The Itty-Bitty Town With a Heart of Gold - Kilmarnock, Virginia

    Until dating a previous boyfriend I had in college from the D.C. area, I never realized how "unusual" it was to see ten people you've grown up with all in one trip to Walmart or the local restaurant in town. I didn't know how commonplace it seemed to me, personally, as a Kilmarnock-native, to see my Grandma at least once a week in the hustle and bustle of traffic on Southern Main Street. I remember how surprised I felt when my boyfriend at the time mentioned to me how weird it was that all of these occurrences happened for me in one day, where for him, it was rare for him to see maybe three people he knew within a week's time of outings.
    Of course, now, my ethnocentric style of thinking has gone away and as I've grown, I've come to appreciate what a jewel Kilmarnock really is. I always feel proud to tell people that I was born and raised in such a richly-historical small town nestled on the coast of the Chesapeake Bay.
    Growing up with my two younger brothers, I cannot even begin to count the hours upon hours we'd spend riding our bikes up and down the road in our backroad neighborhood. We'd trek the woods in the back of our neighbors' property, running around on old plantation farm grounds, searching and finding treasures with metal detectors, building forts out of thick tree limbs, and climbing over streams, (always with our neighbors' permission, of course. Why they gave us permission, I don't know). My brothers and I also enjoyed that our neighborhood happened to be directly on Dividing Creek-- we'd spend many Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends grilling by the neighbor's pool, twirling sparklers beside our close, family friends until the day ended in the night sky being filled with fireworks, and we definitely spent our fair share of those near-scolding, summer days crisping in the sun on the tube behind our father's boat, being splashed in the face by that salty-tasting, brackish water.
    The people in the Northern Neck have a soul like no other. Everyone is like-minded in the way that they care for their neighbors. Everyone is kind, everyone is fair, and absolutely no one is left behind.
    The memories that I will carry with me into adulthood that I've created while living in this beautiful hometown will last a lifetime. This itty-bitty town with a heart of gold and the people inside of it have shaped me into the person that I am today, and that's something I wouldn't change for the world.
    If you ever get the chance, do yourself the favor of visiting the small, but nonetheless beautiful town on the other side of the Robert O. Norris Bridge; you won't regret it.

    - kati duryea