Editor’s note: More than 200 children in fifth through eighth grades entered a writing contest themed “Why I Love Bowling Green.” The top three essay writers received $300 for first place, $150 for second place and $50 for third place. Below is the first-place essay.

Have you ever wished you lived in another city, state or country? Maybe New York City, possibly Los Angeles, or even Paris? All of these cities are gorgeous, big and individual. Bowling Green isn’t as big as New York, and not as fancy as Paris. It doesn’t need to be. I love Bowling Green how it is and will always love it no matter what. I love Bowling Green because it is a beautiful city with kind, caring people, and because, most importantly, it is my home.

Bowling Green is absolutely, in my opinion, one of the prettiest towns in the entire southeast. We have beautiful parks, buildings, and surroundings. My favorite place in Bowling Green is downtown. Fountain Square is beautiful at night, and Van Meter Auditorium has, what I think is, the best view in town (we have lots of great views, don’t we.) I love being able to see the Barren River’s bank every time I drive by and its miraculous dark, green shining waters in the summer. I love the new park downtown, with its glorious fountains and all the little kids screaming shouts of joy in the hottest parts of the summer. Bowling Green is truly a beautiful place inside and out.

Bowling Green is a great place to live because of all the people. There are so many cultures and ethnicities, and although we are different in many ways we are linked together by one thing – the love we share for Bowling Green. I go to the Bowling Green Junior High School, and though it was a little bit confusing at first, mixing students from four different schools into one grade, we all get along well and I’ve made lots of new friends. I love to meet new people, and Bowling Green is a place where you can do just that. We have lots of events where you have opportunities to meet new people and make new friends. Bowling Green doesn’t just have lots of people; it has lots of kind people. My family moved to Bowling Green when my brother was 2 years old and I was 2 weeks old. We knew no one, and yet everyone in the neighborhood helped us out. One neighbor even watched my brother and me so my mom could unpack all of our things. If that isn’t an example of kind people, I don’t know what is. The people of Bowling Green are very welcoming and great to be around.

The final reason I love Bowling Green is because it is, and will forever be, my home. I love to travel. I have been to many places in my life so far, but there is no feeling like driving down Fairview Avenue and knowing that I am home. My house is in Bowling Green, but my home is Bowling Green. My home is my school, the Bowling Green Junior High, my dance class near Western, and the park we take my dog, Gracie, to are all my home. All these places are in my heart, and are a part of my home.

Bowling Green is special to me, and I will never want to live anywhere else. We all live in a beautiful place, and in an even prettier city, inside and out. We have so many people that live in this town, but they are more than that to me. They are my friends. But more than any of that Bowling Green is my home, and it is where I belong.