By Austin Henry, Norwood High School senior

Norwood, the home of the Mustangs. Norwood, the thriving community. Norwood, my home. 

As a 17 year old who has spent my entire life growing up in Norwood, this has been my experience. It is such a small speck on the map yet it holds so much space in my heart, because of how I feel when I am here. I have always felt safe and comfortable in Norwood. Very rarely as a kid did I ever worry about leaving my home. 

I think this is such a positive experience and one that seems to be growing rarer in the chaos of the modern world. 

I have so many beautiful memories of being a kid, taking my bike and cruising down Nahatan St., or trying to power my way up the hill on Nichols St. that is right before the high school. 

In my youth, I was a cub scout and it always amazed me how many willing people would support us as we stood outside of Shaw’s and attempted to sell popcorn to every person that entered. 

Going to the Oldham Elementary School, I had such a great time, and very early on a sense of community was established in my life.

Many of my teachers over the years did not just work in Norwood, they also called it their home and many more of them had gotten the delight of growing up here too. This made all the difference as it built a community of people that I knew and looked up to that all lived in Norwood.

As I entered middle-school and began to be able to roam the town more and more freely, I was delighted by the kindness of the people. Whether it was going to Spot for a slushy or Express Pizza for a warm slice of pizza, everywhere I went I was always met with the friendliest of smiles. These smiles, like the sun, glowed in my growing eyes and inspired my laughter, as I continued to grow into an adult.

The older and older I got, the more of a community I felt forming around me, sheltering me like how a tent protects a camper from all the harsh elements of nature.

As I have traversed high school, I was able to get an even further glimpse into the beauty of the town as I have gotten into photography and taken many pictures of the sun rising over our beloved town common that holds home to so many of my memories.

As the sun sets on my senior year and I prepare to leave Norwood and go to college, I think back to all the wonderful memories I have.

I think about all of the delicious treats from the farmers market that always went far to make my taste buds dance.

I think about the smell of freshly made bagels from Spot that can make a person with a full belly hungry at the first whiff. 

I will never forget the sound of townies debating over which of our seemingly millions of pizza places is the best. 

I will never forget the feeling of walking into Norwood High School and feeling like I belonged there.

Most of all, I hope I never forget the little town I call home, Norwood.