Hello! I am Gabrielle David, a new member of the Torrington Telegram team. I was born in Torrington, and I’ve lived here my entire life. Both of my parents worked at the Torrington Telegram when my mom was pregnant with me twenty years ago. My dad delivered the papers out of town and my mom was a telemarketer and then a staff writer. 

I graduated from Torrington High School in 2023, then from Eastern Wyoming College in 2024 with an associate in social sciences, and now I’m working on getting my bachelor’s in forensic psychology online and I’m hoping to finish that early as well. Not how I planned for my college years to go, but it’ll do the trick. 

I live with my boyfriend and our 3-year-old Salamander, Randall. They are my best friends, so I am very happy to spend time with them. I miss having cats. I like most animals. I enjoy things like space and gardening. I like summertime outside activities, but I hate the heat. I like Halloween, rainy days, and the dark. 

One thing that I’ve always enjoyed was researching and writing. I’ve been wanting to get to better know the community I’ve lived in my entire life. This opportunity seemed to be the perfect fit. I’m really excited to get out and get to meet new people and help support our small businesses. 

I haven’t always been a big fan of our little town. In my teen years I swore I’d go somewhere new, somewhere big. As I’ve grown and matured, I can see a lot of the value this little town has to offer. Nowhere else would know my family three generations back. Our little town is far safer than so many places. A lot of our resources are local. I mean, in the summer there are farmer’s markets left and right. I love farmer’s markets.

In our little town, I feel pretty safe. I know if something were to happen to me, somebody is probably going to notice. The last time I traveled far out of state, I noticed that nobody seems to notice you. It made me think about how opposite back home was. I thought that I’d like the alternative better, but our nosy community does have its benefits. 

Another thing, I would never admit it out loud, but I think it is just a little fun that you have to have a road trip every time you need something you can’t get here. I pretend like it is inconveniencing, but road trips have all my favorite things. My very best friend and I load into the car, we play all our favorite songs and gossip, we do a little shopping, and then we always get Taco Bell as a treat. What could be better?

A lot of the things we value here don’t mean nearly as much anywhere else. There are so many restaurants we view as treat because it’s a long drive to the nearest one. In a bigger town, it may just be a couple blocks away. We’re smarter with our shopping because we know if we forget something it would mean finding time for a drive. Things like concerts, big sporting events and other similar things are viewed with more value to us. I like to think it gives us a better appreciation for the little things because they’re so big for us. 

Overall, I’m learning to appreciate our little town. To enjoy the big things and the little things. To value our community and our little stores. I learned to love living so close to my family and it makes me glad I didn’t leave. I am very happy to be a part of our community, and part of the Telegram.