The problem with a small town isn’t that everyone knows everything about you, it’s that they won’t let you change.  Almost as early as the day you are born, they decide who you are and they won’t let you forget it.  I was to be smart, funny and entertaining when appropriate, but otherwise quiet, helpful and nice.  I complied as if it had been my idea, as if I chose it for myself.   

As strange as it was in a town with little hope and even fewer prospects, I was continually told by my teachers and family that I could be anything I wanted.  I understood that the subtext for my family was that I could, as long as what I wanted was what they wanted for me, what they were able to imagine.  The problem with that is they weren’t specific.  They had a vague and general notion of my future, but no details. 

© Salahub 2003