My Utah hometown looks like a Hallmark movie. Its best American values go deeper.

GRANTSVILLE — The stereotypical America seen in movies and books can be found in my hometown of Grantsville. Personally, I like to think of my town as a mini Hallmark movie but with a little less romance.

Imagine tractors driving down Main Street, American flags on porches everywhere, and energetic athletes running with their dogs during sunrise. This is the picture-perfect America I see in my hometown.

Sitting about 35 minutes from Salt Lake City if traffic is light, Grantsville is near the excitement of the big city and close to the adventure of the mountains. At the heart of town sit our library and city hall, just a short walk away from the high school and largest park in town. If people head northeast from the town’s center, they’ll drive past the Great Salt Lake.

If one were to stay in town, they would see mountains on all four sides of themselves. Look a little farther and they’d find our rodeo grounds which are used every week in summer and the famous Clark Historic farm where our yearly town festival occurs.

We’re a tight-knit community rich with a history in farming just trying to stick with our roots. Being slowed down when driving because a tractor is cruising ahead of you is considered normal.

When Homecoming season rolls around, local businesses decorate their windows in support of our high school football team. Near Halloween, there’s a town-wide skeleton decorating contest. Our 4th of July celebration lasts a whole week and is our biggest community event of the entire year. Through these small-town traditions and many others, Grantsville shows a part of the America I know and love.

But there is more to our country than hotdogs, fireworks, and tractors. This other, arguably more important, part is experienced through the people.

I see it when I go to our town’s lone grocery store and know the cashiers by name. People here are friendly enough that a planned five-minute trip will turn into a 30-minute conversation because a neighbor and I started chatting. People on the streets wave at one another and bring each other banana bread if they sense something is off.

Last month, there was a head-on collision on Main Street. I saw more than half a dozen people stop to help while others pulled out their phones to call 911. That is the America I believe in — being friendly and helping neighbors. These kind actions of the people are what create our nation today.

Everyday actions may seem small, but they are what give meaning to the words our country was founded upon. The founding fathers immortalized the words, “We the People of the United States,” in the Constitution, and those words still hold value today.

“We the People” are the backbone of this country. We are the ones holding up the nation and shaping it into whatever will come next. We have the power to do so much good, but in the wise words of Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” With the power we hold, we have the responsibility to make choices which will leave our country better than we found it.

When I look to the future, I want it to include a culture of accepting others, so I try to build this culture. Even when people are different from me, I believe they still deserve to feel included and welcome.

In 8th grade, I was a new kid at a new school. I felt like I was on the outskirts of all groups and I was so scared of how I would ever fit in. Luckily for me, on the first day of school, a girl named Lilli sat by me in first period science class. She said “hi” to me and started asking questions to get to know me.

All too soon, our first period class ended and we split up, but this same girl found me during lunch and invited me to sit with her and her friends. Because of her, a very daunting day became less intimidating and even enjoyable. When I was scared no one would like me, she showed me kindness and made me feel seen.

Now it is my job to pass this kindness forward. When I see people sitting alone in the school cafeteria, it is up to me to go say “hi.” If I see someone who looks sad in the halls of my school, I check on them and ask if there’s anything I can do to help. Everyone deserves to feel seen and accepted, so it is our responsibility to show others they have support in their corner. That is the culture I want to help build for our future.

In this future, I also believe in the importance of free speech and polite disagreement. I have the right to my own opinions but I must also keep an open mind to the opinions of others.

My friend and I talk about politics often, and I know we don’t agree on certain topics. We have different opinions on marriage, love, censorship, and other social issues, but we don’t let these differences of opinion keep us from being friends. In fact, I’d say being able to have differing opinions and talk about these beliefs respectfully makes our relationship stronger. I don’t have to agree with my friends, and they don’t have to agree with me, but we must always respect one another’s right to have and express their own opinion.

These are the American values I’ve grown up around: help your neighbors, accept others as they are, and express your beliefs while respecting the opinions of others.

America has been through many rough patches, and it certainly has its flaws, but when I see neighbors helping neighbors, strangers accepting newcomers, and friends respecting differences, I am reminded of the America I love. Tomorrow begins with the choices of today, and because of the people surrounding me, I believe our best tomorrows are still yet to come.

Note to readers • This contest was produced by The Salt Lake Tribune, Spy Hop and Amplify Utah. It was supported through a grant from the American Journalism Project.