I could never understand why it was so easy to leave my hometown, yet so hard at the same time.

When it was time to "leave the nest," I think the last thing I said to myself when I got on that plane was "I think I'm going to miss it here." I know it's crazy, especially when you come from a small town in the middle of nowhere. But I really think it had a lot to do with the fact that I had spent a majority of my life in this little town of Pennsylvania.

I got my first job here, had my first kiss, made good friends at the community college I went to, and I even got my first car here. My life has always been here, with my friends and my family that I love so much.

Now, I go to school in Florida and I only come home for winter and summer breaks. Eventually I won't come back again, and it's a really weird sad and happy feeling. I'm sad because a lot of the major events in my life happened here. I'm happy because I've found happiness elsewhere. A place where I can see myself really growing as a person, financially and spiritually.

You never really notice how many things change in your hometown until you leave for a few months and come back. People are different now; I swear they change with the seasons. So are the friendships I thought would last forever.

To those I thought I'd be friends with no matter where life brought us, I don't really have anything to say but I wish you the best. If you choose to reconnect, I'm just a text away.

I think about my coworkers pretty often, especially the select few who I've always been extremely close with. I always try my best to keep in touch the best I can, but we all have different schedules and it's not always easy to communicate. I just want to let you guys know every time I see a funny post on Facebook I think about all the inside jokes we had and that we still laugh about to this day. You guys are extremely special to me, thank you for always making work a little more bearable.

To those select few people who I know will last a lifetime, even though we've all gone our separate ways and we're always so far away from each other, I still feel close to you all. Even if we don't talk every day, I'll drive by our favorite store, or I'll hear our favorite songs on the radio, and I'll smile. I smile knowing through these little amazing things given to us in life I still feel so connected to you all.

I miss my family all the time, but with their love and support I know I can do anything I set my mind to. Including finishing that 15-page paper that's due at the end of the week that I probably haven't even started yet. (Sorry mom and dad, I still procrastinate a lot.) I also know my little brother is growing up and going through the same things I went through in my teen years as he enters high school. Hang tight little man, it only gets harder from here, but you're my brother so I know you're going be just fine.

I go to the old playground everyone likes to go to. Sometimes I watch the sunset as I walk the trail, and it just brings me back to when my hometown was my home. I still miss the sunsets and the view of the mountains when driving on the highway.

But I've fallen in love with the colorful sunsets that reflect off the water in the city, as well as the busy-ness of the streets and the pretty lights that light up the Riverwalk.

I may have a new home, but I have not forgotten my hometown and the people I left behind.