Kingwood, Texas: Not Your Average Suburbia

Thesis: Even though it is suburban and has more trees than buildings, Kingwood has a serene, yet lively, Town Center and is always plagued by the randomness of imaginative teens, adding to the diversity of Houston.

Body Paragraph: Though it is often overflowing with people, Town Center gives of a calmness and sense of community which can be found nowhere else. Outsiders may see only stores in the strip malls that line the intersection, but I see stories and memories that have been made throughout my eight years of living in Kingwood. Behind the bright McDonald’s, an outdoor stage in the middle of a round-about provides an area to hold community events. I remember going to a local charity’s fund-raising concert which was held there; several booths like the ones used in carnivals, were set up in the grass surrounding the stage, and when the band played their first song, all of Town Center moved with the beat. Traffic through the crowded intersection slowed that night, and people rolled down their windows to taste the music, to feel it vibrate through their souls. Even with the hundreds of people in the small area, we felt a strong connection; we were Kingwood; we were Texas; we were one.