Growing up, all I wanted to do was get out of my hometown. I wanted nothing more than to leave and to never look back. My mind was set that once I graduated high school I would go far away to college. I think a lot of kids think that. We all wanted nothing more than to escape. I was wrong. A lot of us were wrong.

I ended up going to college just three hours away from my hometown. Not my idea of "far away." While choosing a school, something kicked in at the last second that made me realize that I wasn't quite ready to leave my hometown forever. My hometown will always be my home and I think I forgot that.

I lived my whole life in the same city. I grew up there and met my childhood best friends there. I experienced my first heartbreaks there and even my first loves. Every stage of my life, I went through there. I found myself there. When you think about it, it's so weird to just get up and leave the only place you've ever known. That's why my hometown will always have a piece of my heart. No matter what.

My hometown has definitely offered me a lot and has played a huge part in shaping me into the person I am today, but I'm not saying I want to go back and start my own family there or anything. I don't want that. But I will visit often and make sure my kids know of my hometown and how I grew up there. Especially since I met my soon to be fiancée there almost 5 years ago.

My hometown holds 20 years' worth of my memories there. My whole entire life up until now was spent in the Mid-Cities of DFW. I don't know if I would ever even live in one place for that long again. I do know I'll never forget it, though. Sometimes, when I'm away at school I even feel a little homesick. It's true what they say, home really is where the heart is. But I am definitely ready for bigger and better things.