I Believe in the World's Largest Ketchup Bottle.

I believe in the world’s largest ketchup bottle.  

I am from a town of about 26,000 people.  This town is just 20 minutes East of St. Louis, and is called Collinsville, Illinois.  This town is home to the worlds largest ketchup bottle.  I had lived in Collinsville my entire life before moving to Chicago for college.  I had lived in the same house since the day I came home from the hospital until the middle of my freshman year of high school.  But it was that house where I had experienced most of my firsts.  It was where I had taken my first steps, spoken my first words, said my first prayers.  It was where I had made my first mistake, learned to ride my bike, and done my first cartwheel.  It was also where I had first seen my parents fight, and where I had seen my mother die.

Living in that town had taught me everything I know.  I know how to adapt well to meeting new people, because I can honestly say you can find every stereotype you could ever imagine in Collinsville.  Collinsville had taught me to be nice to everyone but trust few, which is something I think is very important.  

Collinsville is where I first found myself.  It is where I discovered my creative abilities, and where I became independent.  It is where I learned to think for myself, and stick up for what I believe in.  It may be kind of trashy, and there may be a large population of wiggers, but all in all Collinsville is where I made my first step to self discovery.  We keep it real.