I graduated in 2016 and said adios to my high school forever.

Or so I thought.

Turns out that after going to college, you really do miss the innocent days of high school. I missed my friends, even though I was making plenty of new ones. I missed my teachers because my professors weren't as personal and relational. I missed the easy homework and extra points because "I can tell you're trying your hardest." But most of all, I missed knowing.

I missed knowing most of the school just walking down the hallways, the sweet sound of the bell signaling class was over, my Young Life leaders being in the commons at the end of the day. I missed being comfortable in my little suburban bubble.

But I didn't want ot be that girl, you know, the one who constantly goes back and visits her old high school teachers, friends, and walks the halls to reminisce... and I especially didn't want to do it alone.

But I did.

I went back and I stood in the commons and waited for the bell to ring like my Young Life leaders had done time and time again. I ran into teachers in the hallways and got to catch up, this time it was far more personal that the relationship we had in high school. I walked those halls and felt at home. I sat in on some of my old classes and I was thankful that I had graduated and thankful that I was now in college.

Going back isn't a bad thing or anything I should have been ashamed of. That was my turf, my school, my home.

They say that "Home is where the heart is" and I believe it. I left a piece of my heart in my high school and boy did it feel good to go back and have the chance to take it back to college with me.

So graduate, future graduate, alumni - go back to your high school and take a trip down memory lane. It'll be good for you. You've grown up and you've changed, but you'll always have a home there.