Coming to college, I was eager to get out of my hometown. I was ready to leave behind all of the high school drama and start a life that I really could call my own. Each time I visited home during my freshman year, I knew that I had made the right decision in choosing a school that was not close to home. Although I enjoyed visiting with family and friends, I was always ready to go back to Columbus.

This has remained true for me. I love spending time with some of the greatest friends I have ever made laughing and eating at our favorite restaurants. But still, after a visit to my hometown, I am ready to come back. Sometimes, I even catch myself referring to Columbus as home, even though I have only been here under three years. How can it be that a city that I knew nothing about could take the place of a town that I grew up in for my younger and teenage years?

I knew that choosing to attend Ohio State in Columbus was right. I could feel it in my heart; even on my first visit, I knew that this school was somewhere I would end up at some point in my life. I didn't know if that would be when I graduated high school or after I graduated college, but I knew that a big city was somewhere I would belong.

Now as a junior in college and as someone that moved away from home, I can say that I really don't regret it. There isn't much that I would change about my experience, but yet, sometimes I still miss my hometown. There are times where I miss walking into the grocery store and seeing someone I knew or working and talking with someone I knew from high school. I love living in a big city, but I can't just forget about the town that shaped my life in so many ways.

The best word I can use to describe leaving home, but also coming back to visit, is refreshing. It was refreshing to leave and begin to further understand the person that I was supposed to become. However, it's also refreshing to return home and know that I am always welcomed back to the town where I once spent all of my time.

I'll never forget my hometown; it holds too many memories for me to do so. Although I know that there are moments where I couldn't wait to leave that town, I know that there are also many instances where I dreaded leaving again. Columbus now holds my heart, but a piece of it will always remain where I grew up.