I grew up and still live part time in Waterford, Michigan. Waterford is technically a suburb of Detroit (part of the collective "Metro Detroit" area of Michigan which is basically all of Southeastern Michigan). It's the largest city in the county, but is really nothing more than the basic suburban city. We have a handful of elementary schools, two middle schools, three high schools, and no downtown. The population consists of lower to upper middle class families as well as lower class families.

I've known since I was very young that I would not live in my hometown for my entire life. To me, it really has never been an option. Many of my peers' parents had grown up in Waterford, in fact my parents are in the minority having not grown up here. I can't fathom that happening to me. It's not that I don't like Waterford, but I've never really felt that I belong. As you can guess from the name, there is a lot of water (lakes), I even grew up on a lake. Unfortunately, I'm not very outdoorsey. My favorite outdoor activity is strolling through a city or a nice garden, not waterskiing and boating. In high school, I found my happy place with the art department. We were a successful group of kids who ended up getting thousands upon thousands of dollars in scholarships, but few people really paid attention because in high school sports and such are usually the focus, not art. This was obviously frustrating and honestly still is. When I was accepted to a college in Savannah, Georgia, I was ready to hightail it out of my suburban hometown.

Despite having reservations before I moved, I instantly fell in love Savannah. This did not help my relationship with Waterford. When I came home for winter break it was alright, mainly due to the holiday season and being able to see my family. Summer break is another story. I'd had around 20 weeks to fall even more in love with Savannah when I came back from Winter break and boy did I. In Savannah, I was able to walk literally everywhere. I became more comfortable with myself. I made wonderful new friends. My lifestyle became so much healthier and I was happier than ever. Coming back to Waterford meant being driven around everywhere because I don't have a car of my own and there's no way to walk around town. It meant spending most says sitting alone in my mom's apartment. I could tell my friends were bummed to be away from school too and that they shared my not so shining opinion of our humble hometown.

Now I'm about a week away from returning to Savannah and I've realized I've been way too harsh on my hometown. This will sound silly, but it's not Waterford; it's me. This town has given me so much throughout my life: a wonderful community, a good education, and most importantly some fantastic friends. My friends and I are just outgrowing Waterford. We've chosen career paths that won't allow us to necessarily live here once we graduate, but that's ok. I'm thankful for everything this town has given me and I sincerely apologize for being so harsh on it these past few years. It really isn't fair. I'm excited to see what my friends and I do as we continue to go to school far away from our hometown because I think we all have really bright futures. I don't see Waterford being in my distant future that much, but it will always be in my memories.