by Ammie Bryant, Editor

August is here and with it our community heads back to school. This month, Stillwater will once again thrum with that special rhythm that only college towns seem to have.

Last month, we spent a little bit of time in Fayetteville, Arkansas when our 8th grader attended the 61st annual University of Arkansas summer band camp for a week. Then the following week, our 10th grader attended the high school version of the camp. It’s a neat city and our kids said that it reminded them of Stillwater—only bigger and set in the Ozarks, of course. (Oh those hills!) We explained that a big part of what they sense is that college town vibe. It provides a youthfulness and progressiveness that you don’t often find in other towns of the same size.

Young adults are some of my favorite people to be around. My BA is in Secondary Education and I worked with college students throughout my past career in Museums. Working with young adults was one of my favorite parts of the job. It still is, especially when I get the opportunity to talk to them about their goals and dreams. It’s even cooler to see what they are capable of when they pursue those goals.

I feel the same way about teenagers. Our kids are all teens now and so far, this is my favorite age that they have been. They are smart, thoughtful, and funny and so are their friends. Sure, there are kids out there making the news for some not-so-smart reasons, but I know there are more out there like our kids and their friends than not. The more time I spend around them the more convinced I become that our future is in excellent hands.

Until next month, onward!