Highlighting our Navasota neighbors
Hello everyone! Allow me to tell you a bit about myself and this new column. My name is Jennifer Sanchez-Ramirez, and I am proud life-long resident of Navasota. My husband David and I, as well as our two children, are proud NHS grads! We enjoy attending events in Navasota and around Grimes County and are excited to see the progress being made around our hometown.
As most of you know our little city has begun to grow and shows no signs of slowing down. As Connie Clements wrote in her column a couple of weeks ago - this can be a little uncomfortable, especially for someone like myself who happens to be very content with the way “old Navasota” has always been.
Growth of our town, with a current population of approximately 8,000, brings about all sorts of different emotions for me excitement, fear, curiosity, happiness, uneasiness, nervousness, hope, and even pride. I honestly see no real reason to change things up, especially with the number of people moving here. I don’t mind the renovations/ facelifts and new businesses, but the people part is a little scary to me. Having lived here my entire life, there is a comfort in knowing most everyone. Oops! Let me rewrite that sentence. There WAS a comfort in knowing most everyone.
For some time now, I have thought about writing a column to interview and showcase random people who most of us probably don’t know. I often see and meet individuals that I don’t recognize and am intrigued as to why they chose to work or live here, where they came from, and what their past, present and future is. Living ONLY in Navasota has not brought many exciting adventures or stories my way, so I love to listen to others share their fun life experiences. My life has been both thankfully and sadly pretty boring most days!
David and I are attending the City of Navasota’s Citizens University. Besides a small handful of familiar born and bred Navasotian’s - the entire class is made up of recent transplants that I have never even seen before enrolling. Shockingly - these new people don’t really scare me - they actually interest and intrigue me. I LIKE THEM!
Being someone who enjoys reading biographies and watching documentaries, I love to learn about REAL people - how their childhood was, what mistakes they’ve made and overcame, how they survived hard times, what they dream about, what they regret, who their heroes are, etc. I think we truly stand to learn so much from one another.
In today’s times with so much negativity and controversy - I think it will do us all some good to read, learn and get out of our comfort zone to embrace some of the newbies that are now calling my beloved Navasota home. My intent is to get to know new people and introduce them to you as well. They are our neighbors after all and very much a part of us now. Some of these people you may know, but it’s my intent to find out a few new things about them. So, come back in a couple of weeks to see who my very first interview is and meet the first “Navasota Neighbor!” The column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jennifer Ramirez. Opinion columns are NOT the opinion of the Navasota Examiner.
Jennifer is a lifelong resident of Navasota. She is passionate about her community and supports all things local.