"Home, I've found, is not a place. It is carried with me everywhere--my suitcase full of hearts, moments and warmth."
-Leeza Jayde

To the girls who will move in after me,

Congratulations on your new adventure! Moving into a new house is one of the most exciting things I believe we humans get to do in our short lives, and I cannot wait for you to decorate and create your own memories in a sacred place I once called home.

The house that you are moving into is particularly important to me, as it has not only given me a space to call my own but was also one of the most influential places in which I learned to grow.

You see, it was within these walls that 3 girls became a family. Sheltering nights of loud music and even louder laughter as well as nights of silence and the occasional fight. But most importantly, with time and decorations, it became a home I grew to love and treasure like no other.

In the two years that I have lived here, the kitchen has seen great remodeling and repair. The oven cooking a variety of items from paella to never-ending brownies. Surviving hurricanes, knee-high floods, and love that has worn the floors more since before we moved in, but over time you will learn to know it just as we once did.

This home has seen fights with the neighbors and the startling recollection of my roommate's heads leaning out of the window to yell above. It has seen many visitors, some frequent fliers, and others only passing by.

It has seen the dying flames of loved ones replaced with the start of new. It has seen some of our worst nights and some of our very best, but soon it will be yours.

Very soon you will begin your own journey in the house I once called home and the floors and walls will adhere to your lifestyle instead of mine. Because just like the people who lived here before me, it is my time to move on and your time to start something new and life-changing.

I simply have one request of you as you begin your stay here, to fill it with as many decorations and memories that you can and to make note of any and all events that might occur during your stay. Because when the next group of bright-eyed renters dares to live here after you, all you will be able to take is a memory and (hopefully) a sense of reverence like mine.

But for now, enjoy the stress and excitement of purchasing furniture to make it yours. Enjoy the move-in process and (of course!) purchase Chinese food as a welcome home meal. Because as I take the last of my belongings out, your story begins.

Take care of the house that became a home and inevitably built me.

Sincerely,

The 15 Coming Girls