This essay is about the lessons I've learned growing up in . You can learn many different things when you grow up in a small town. I've learned these lessons through painful times and others I've learned through times of joy. All the lessons you learn in life are valuable.
             There have been times in my life, for instance, when my sister passed away in 1995 when our family needed friends. We were going through a tough time in our lives. The citizens were great to us. They did everything they could to console us in the loss of my sister. They brought over food, sent cards and flowers, and came by for visits. They offered to take me places, give my parents time alone, and invited me into their homes to get away. They helped my parents learn how to grieve for the loss of their daughter. The people in this town are very kind and considerate when it is a time for mourning.
             On the other hand, they weren't as kind and considerate when my parents divorced shortly after my sister passed away. They gossiped behind our family's back. They didn't ask us directly about what was going on; they just listened to the gossip and continued to spread it. They had no idea what that did to me. I mean, what could I do about what my parents had done to each other? They just looked at me like they felt so sorry for me. They didn't try to see if I was doing ok or if I was hanging in there. If they felt so sorry for me, why didn't they try to stop the rumors and nonsense going around? People can be so mean and cruel when they want to be, especially teenagers. They are at the age when they don't care about hurting other people. They don't understand the things a person is going through at a time like that. Small towns are very bad about gossiping. I think they are so bad just because there isn't much to do, so why not gossip? It's not like it's your own business, so who cares if it gets spread around? So one person tells another person and another person tells...