History of the world around us. Most times when you live somewhere you don’t give the history of it a second thought. You never really sit down and wonder what was the place or building before what you have always known it as. Or who brought what to the community as you know it. Maybe you have thought about it but never took the time to really find out. Either way, imagine sitting down in your favorite local restaurant, not knowing who or where the people inside came from along with what the building had been, if it was a warehouse or factory way before it was ever a restaurant. Or moving into a new house and the history of who lived in it before you and the memories they shared inside.

On either end of the history of buildings, all of this came to life for me one afternoon at our local downtown square, when an older man came up to me and my two friends. We were walking around downtown for our walking tour in Dr. Brewer’s AP class, when he stopped us to ask why we had clip boards and paper in our hands. We kindly explained that we were doing it for our class and what the assignment on our clipboards was. As a response to us talking about urban development of the square he asked if we wanted to hear the history of the square when he was here in 1982. Me and my friends nodded our heads and he explained how when he was younger the square died, how the buildings were boarded off and there was no one in sight. And then how a rich family came to Carrollton and brought it back to life. When they brought the places back to life,he pointed to places around the square we were currently standing in and explained what a lot of the old buildings used to be. Some were completely different from what they are now. While he shared the story, I was standing there trying to visualize all the old buildings, how the square looked deserted and then brought back to life by the community which many of the people here know or are related to.

The old man’s story made me start to think about my life, even though all the things he talked about were in none of my or my friends lives. It made me think about how I haven’t experienced a lot of the things in my home town like my peers have. I lived in two other states before I lived here so a lot of things here I have an outsider’s perspective on. Things people experience/ed in Carrollton I haven’t because I haven’t lived here my whole life like many people here have. Like having generations of family in town or knowing lots of people in the community or experiencing the changes and history of the town. Yet while I have this outsider’s perspective of my home town, people with outside perspectives can bring new perspectives and things to the town. Along with merging cultures in the community to overall make it a better place.
New members to the community can bring in new ideas for the growth of town. For example, new restaurants, businesses, cultures and more while still learning about where they have that business, restaurant, ect.

Overall, while yes I have outsider perspectives on the town, there is still so much culture and history to know about in our hometown. Hand in hand new people and residents to Carrollton can go together to make it a better place, creating new historic events in town.