The Town We Never Thought We'd Miss

The Town We Never Thought We’d Miss

            I’m currently in my sophomore year of college at Roger Williams University, which, for those who don’t know, is located in Bristol, Rhode Island. Although its only a quick 2.5 hour drive back home, I cant help but miss the small town I grew up in. Sure Bristol is a small town itself, located right by the water and full of shops and restaurants in the downtown area, but something about it just doesn’t compare to Trumbull, Connecticut.

            I’m sure every Trumbull kid can remember the days we would constantly complain about our town; “there’s nothing to do” “its so boring here” “I can’t wait to leave”. These phrases quickly became common and I can’t blame anyone because I said the same things. Friday nights consisted of a group of friends and I circled around a table playing Cards Against Humanity for as long as possible before someone said what we were all thinking, “I’m bored, lets do something”. Which, in my friend’s defense, was usually me. Yet, there was never anything we could think of to do, that was a reasonable budget that is. Usually we would end up going somewhere to get food (I swear almost all my money goes to buying food). In the end, we all couldn’t wait for the day where we could leave this town and never look back.

            Now I’m sitting here, my second year at college, and I can’t help but feel a little nostalgic. Sure Trumbull was boring growing up and high school was rough but I couldn’t be anymore grateful that Trumbull was the town I was raised in. After living in Rhode Island for a little over a year and getting to know a ton of new people, I’ve come to the conclusion that Trumbull kids are luckier than they think.

            We all disliked Trumbull High School, the mess that was. Whether it was the fire alarms randomly going off on rainy days, the ceilings leaking, the weird smell that always came from M-hall, the never ending construction, the dead stop traffic in every hallway in between periods…there was a lot to complain about. But there was a lot that we also took for granted. Trumbull high was a huge school and very diverse. I’ve met so many people who’s graduating class was about 100 students while ours was like 5x that. I’ve had the advantage of being able to meet and connect with all different types of people in high school, an advantage that a lot of kids in smaller communities didn’t have. Trumbull high offered us the best even if we didn’t see it. The aqua and ag programs gave us the opportunity to learn something new while also bringing in kids from surrounding towns. Our teachers were pretty damn amazing. I am thankful to this day for every teacher I have had, especially the ones that challenged me (There’s a few of my professors who could use a lesson from them).I have realized that in comparison to other students in my classes, not all of them were lucky enough to have as good as an education as me.  We may not have noticed it but the Trumbull school system really prepared us for the future and taught us how to work hard.

            I do love college and all the people I have met here, but at times I can’t help but to wish I was back at Trumbull High, surrounded by the people I’ve known my whole life, stuck in AB corner with only 4 minutes to get to class; or even driving around with the windows down on a Saturday with my best friends. I look forward to the days I get to go home for a little now and have a reunion with my friends and family as if I never left.

            So if you’re still stuck at Trumbull High School and waiting on the day you get to leave Trumbull all behind, don’t rush it. It goes by fast enough on its own. Enjoy every minute of it all, even the bad days, because at some point you are going to look back and wish you had. Next time you go to tweet about how much you hate this town, really think about it because one day you’ll be moving into college and things will change quite a bit. You’ll lose friends, you’ll meet new people, and you’ll be in a whole new place.

So for now cherish every second you have because Trumbull was the town we never thought we’d ever miss, but damn were we wrong.