Reasons Why #7 - it's the best place to grow up!

by Meredith Linley

A massive event occurred this summer. It wasn’t the lunar eclipse, or the release of Harry Potter 6. It wasn’t even the passing of the King of Pop. It was the ten year reunion of the Crystal River High School Class of 1999.
I can personally attest to the massiveness of this event because I was the gullible nitwit – err, blessed person, who planned the whole event (although I did have the assistance of a great reunion committee). Sometime in high school I apparently was absent at a Student Government meeting and this responsibility was laid upon me and for the past ten years all my friends from high school didn’t let me forget it.
However, when I started planning this event well over a year ago I had no idea that I would be newly relocated back to this wonderful county of ours. As the weekend approached (and my stress limit sky rocketed) I began to wonder how people were going to react to my moving back home. I assumed most people would think that I was crazy for wanting to come back to my beloved hometown and I prepared responses in my head for the naysayers.
But do you know what happened? My friends approached me all weekend and approved of the move. Guys would come up to me quietly and say things like “I’m jealous, I wish I could move back.” One of my football player friends said “I love Crystal River, I miss it here.” I was shocked and pleased.
Over the weekend, conversations of moving back home were a main topic. I realized most of my friends would be back here in a heartbeat if they could. And others have plans to move back in the coming years. The reason for this is that it was such a wonderful place to grow up; it’s the place we all want to raise our kids.
That being said I figured it would be best to use their words to explain why this community ranks so high with us. So with no further adieu, here are our Reasons Why We Loved Growing Up in Citrus County presented by the CRHS Class of 1999.
“I loved growing up in Citrus County because where else can you have that much fun on the water and in the woods. Also, I knew that everyone's parents watched out for me as if they were mine because people actually care in Crystal River.” said Lisa Hotchkiss, who lives in Fort Lauderdale and recently completely her Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy.
“I loved growing up in Citrus County because there is nothing like having roots from a small town! Being from a small town usually means that you stay with the same group of people throughout your school years and develop strong, lasting relationships. Look at our reunion for example, I can't put in to words how much a lot of those people mean to me and there is no way that you could have that same experience growing up in a "big city".” said Meghan (Bailey) Pitzer who is an elementary school teacher and lives in Apopka.
Rebecca Austin, who lives in Tampa and is an accountant for the Moffit Cancer Center said she loved growing up here because, “The fact the Crystal River only had ONE "Crystal River High School". We were the town; it's why we have such a wide and great group of friends, even after 10 years we easily come back together.”
“I loved growing up in Citrus County because it was a place you know they (high school friends) had your back and you had their back. People could only wish they had what we had in Citrus County. I loved growing up here I would never want to change any of it.”, said Bryan Hinote, who currently is living in St. Petersburg but seriously contemplating a move back to Crystal River.
Maggie Gunther who works at Florida Atlantic University and lives in Fort Lauderdale said, “Knowing any time you leave the house you'd run in to a familiar face and the fact that our teachers cared about the type of education we were getting.” were a few of the reasons why she enjoyed growing up here.
Jonathan Sullivan, who now works for Marriott International in Memphis, TN, (and whose mother makes the best sweet tea in the world) echoed Gunther’s comments; “Something you will always find in a small town is a warm smile and a familiar face. Aside from the people, who wouldn’t enjoy what the coastal waterways here have to offer.”
Even though I try, I really couldn’t have said it better myself. Having a wonderful childhood is definitely one of the reasons I love this community, but having a group of amazing friends who are still there for me all these years later is a reason why I have a wonderful life.