Recently, I heard a story about a group of people in Spokane, WA who noticed many of the residents complaining about how ugly the city was and how they thought it was a bad place to live. This group decided to counter the negativity by taking pride in their city and showing people how it doesn’t “suck”. They went around taking pictures of all the amazing attributes and activities the city had to offer, posted it on social media and then started a clothing line. You can check it out on Instagram and their website to follow more of their story.
I feel the same way about Grand Island. We may not have as much to offer as big cities in our region, such as, Kansas City, Denver, Dallas or Chicago, or even more local ones like Lincoln and Omaha. But there is something about this city, in the heart of Nebraska, that captivates us and makes us proud to be here. Grand Island is my home. Grand Island is the place where my family resides and where I have lasting and strong friendships.
It rarely seems productive to complain about your environment, especially when we each have the opportunity to improve it. Don’t become a product of a negative environment. Make the environment become a product of you and your positive outlook on the city.
A slogan our church has adopted is, “Our City, Our Responsibility”. If we want a better community to live in, it starts with the people living in the community, you and me, taking pride in it. Each of us in Grand Island have the opportunity to make, and show, how wonderful our city is!
A couple friends and I went downtown recently and began to take pictures of some of the structures and activities happening at the time. It was incredibly fun because it opened my eyes to see how great and beautiful our city truly is. If you live in Colorado and see mountains everyday, you can easily forget how majestic a snow-capped mountain top is, because you become used to the view. Sometimes beauty is there and we need to open our eyes to see it, and other times you have to seek it out and acknowledge it to understand how great the beauty is.
We live in a very exciting time in Grand Island! Our downtown is getting revitalized, we have more opportunities coming to our city, there are residents stepping up to improve the quality of life by using their gifts, talents, dreams and time to make something great! Many churches in GI are serving the community and going out to help the less fortunate. Schools are improving and creating open doors for youth to achieve amazing things. The list goes on and on as people are stepping up and taking seriously their role in making this city great! With the Nebraska State Fair just around the corner, we will be able to showcase what GI has to offer and how kind, helpful and energetic our community is! Get excited because great things are happening in Grand Island!
If you think Grand Island “sucks”, then everything you see and experience will be filtered through that lens. Adversely, if you see Grand Island as amazing, you will begin to see all the wonderful opportunities, places and people our city has to offer
I like ending all my writing with a challenge. Here it is: choose to see Grand Island as a great place to live and get involved in the community with that mindset and you will begin to see things through a new perspective. Grand Island is our home, and it is our responsibility, and privilege, to make it a wonderful place to live. Why not try to makes things better and improve our lives? I love this city and I hope you strive to make it an even more wonderful place to call home!
