One aspect I really enjoy about being a journalist is, I am not chained to a desk all day and have the ability to go out and explore different locations in Pearl River County.

A huge difference from my northern hometown and Pearl River County is the amount of money put into the football stadiums. PRC, Picayune and Poplarville all have huge facilities with a field house, weight rooms and large seating capacities.

In my hometown, football is not nearly as big and the facilities are not as nice.

I also like how the entire town and surrounding community are behind the high school athletic teams in this county.

It is hard to match the energy fans brought to the Picayune, PRC game this past November. It really is interesting to see how big of a deal it is to the residents of Carriere and Picayune.

The heavily-attended game also speaks to the amount of pride the students, parents, school administrators and other members of the community have for their hometowns.

The passion for the community is palpable and has been extremely enjoyable to cover on a regular basis.

After covering the sports events, I really got a sense of how much time and effort the players, coaches and parents spend to build a successful football team.

Another part of Pearl River County that really opens my eyes is how much wide-open space there is.

It is a welcome change from all the city buildings and traffic congestion in the big cities I am accustomed to.

I have also noticed is the amount of stars one can see.

Where I am from, I would be lucky to see a couple of stars on any given night, but here the sky is always filled with them.