You may be an aspiring artist, business mogul, or even have dreams of making it big in a cool city, but your roots are planted deep within you and that is something you can never forget.
Don't forget about all of the memories you have from inside the walls of your childhood home. They have shaped you into the person you are today. All of those memories will light up your face with a giant smile when that cool city you plan to live in one day seems so foreign. One day you'll look back on the time your sister got a Barbie doll stuck in your hair and laugh. Or the time that the table cloth caught on fire Christmas morning, that'll cause a chuckle too. One day you'll come to peace with all of the sibling rivalry fights that happened under that roof and all of the arguing matches you had with mom and dad. One day you'll be thankful for all of the love and the hugs that happened under the roof that raised you.
Don't forget about all of your childhood friends. These friends have been there through everything. Every bad idea you had, they were right there next to you encouraging you. "Yes, Taylor, you should go climb on that weak tree branch that hangs above the river, you definitely won't fall in." I can still picture all of the moments where funny things happened as a result of our youthful stupidity. The time where my cousins and I tried to all sit on my kiddo swing at the same time and it broke. We all fell to the ground laughing. The time where the crew played "the couch game" and it usually ended in injury. The time a friend and I rode around the neighborhood on bikes in tutus. Your childhood friends were just as weird as you and they were there through everything. All of the awkward stages. All of the bad times. Definitely all of the good times.
Don't forget about all of your local hang out spots. How you walked everywhere before you had a set of wheels to call your own. How you whipped around the streets of your hometown when you did. McDonald's before cheer practice, the mall on hot summer days, even parks to just swing and talk. These spots will forever be engrained in your brain because life happened there. Your life. Without all of those mall trips and life talks on the swing you may not be the same person you are know. Be thankful you had the opportunity to do all of that.
Don't forget about your firsts. The first time you snuck out of the house. The first time you ever pulled an all nighter slumber party with your friends. The first time you kissed someone. These moments will forever be engrained in your brain for life. There were some bad firsts too, don't forget those either. Your first broken bone, your first broken heart, to name a few. Life is about firsts. These firsts become memories. Hold on to those for life.
So, one day when you are a big artist or a business mogul or one day when you achieve your dream of making it big in a cool city don't forget to look back to where you came from time to time. The memories, all of the firsts, and your local hang out spots all need to hold a place in your heart no matter the distance you travel away. I promise, you won't ever regret the memories. They will make you laugh, cry, and cry laughing. Life moves pretty quickly so don't forget to reminisce the past, enjoy the present, and hope for the future. And always keep room in your heart for your roots and what you came from.
