Home: a word so familiar to everyone, yet it comes with different meanings in every heart scattered throughout the world. It means family, it means friends, most of all, it means memories.

Memories — good and bad. Ones that bring back laughter and ones that draw tears. Memories are kept for a reason, stored in our minds to be reflected upon; they were a time in our lives that impacted us whether we want to remember those moments or not.

I chose to not stay at home this summer for several different reasons, one of which was to escape memories; memories of happiness and memories of a very dark part of me.

I needed to get away — not leave forever, but to have time to not be overwhelmed with different emotions when I wake up every morning.

I do miss home, though. I miss walking in my front door and always being greeted by my incredible and loving family. I miss driving in my car with my best friend by my side going down secret paths that we uncovered in high school.

I keep reminding myself that none of that is gone; it hasn't left me, I have left it. I have grown. I have needed to grow and learn how to stand on my own two feet. To live on my own and create new memories in new places, a new “home.”

At first I thought this was the best decision for me, running away from things I do not want to encounter. But no matter where you go, what you are trying to escape from will always find you. I couldn’t hide away from the negativity in my life anymore.

I face it, dead on. It is what I should’ve done in the first place. But I don’t regret what I have done in the past to get here. Somehow, I have made it to the point where I have accepted with good memories comes bad memories. It’s a part of life, I just have to learn to deal with it.

Going home is still hard for me. There are tragic things that will occur in our lives that will change places for us. This past year has changed how I view my home now; it has affected the way I cherish memories.

Home will always be home, no matter how far you go, and no matter how long you are gone. Those memories will always be with you. And with the future comes new memories, new moments in our lives that will affect us in unbelievable ways. Those memories will come with our new “homes”.

Home isn’t just a place, it is always in our hearts and minds.