Coming back to my hometown where I grew up is always challenging for me. I talk about how much I love my new home in Charlotte, why it is so much better than my small town, and how much I hate coming home. What I failed to realize as I talk about how much I love this new life I have, is I tend to forget that this "washed up" town I talk about is my home. This is the town that built me and made me who I am today. I may live in a big city now, but I will forever be a small town girl.

My family still, (and will for the rest of their lives) live in my small town. That is one of the reasons why I should be more appreciative when I come home. I rarely come back to my hometown besides for holidays and I feel bad about that. I should not dread coming home, because the people I love the most live in this town and that is what matters. I pay more attention to what I hate about my hometown than what I love about it. And what I love about it is the home I was raised in, my family that is my world, and also our local hot-dog joint called Dairi-O.

I have been so caught up in my life away from my hometown that I forgot what it is like to live here. After leaving for college and even just over this past year, I have changed so much. People that knew me from my past don’t really know me at all anymore. But haven’t we all changed?

So, I come home and I reconnect with friends from high school, which is all fun and good to see them, but I feel like we can all agree we love our new lives. I should not feel bad because I love living in Charlotte, but I do. I miss my new home already, but I should be more appreciative of the blessings and memories my hometown gave me. So for that, I will always be proud to be raised in the home of the Demon Deacons, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and (my favorite) Dairi-O. Thank you, to the 336.