Dear Hometown,

My roots will always be planted here, and I hated that. For years I couldn’t wait to get away from you. I couldn’t wait to graduate high school and leave you forever. An empty city, if you could even call yourself a city, is all I thought you were.

I was sick of your predictable habits and unpredictable weather, and even seeing someone I knew when I went to the store without doing my hair. It was going to be great to be in a new place where I knew no one and nothing was recognizable.

Graduation day finally came and those two and a half months of summer ended. After all that time, and all those years I spent with you, I was off to a new city, one that I would call my home for the next several months.

I was in a bigger city now, much bigger than what I was use to. And I loved it. I loved exploring my new home, whether it be meeting new people, finding the hole in the wall places to go, or discovering the best restaurants in the area.

It wasn’t until I had a craving for chicken riggies, one of your specialty dishes, and could not find them on the menu of any restaurant, that I realized I missed you. I realized this again when I got lost for good half hour (although I’m terrible with directions as it is) and could not find my way back to my college. And again, when I was having a bad day and just wanted to watch Nicholas Sparks movies with my best friend of 11 years. I missed the familiarity of the little things that came along with your city, like the food, the roads, and most of all, the people.

You captured my childhood. From learning how to ride a bike in the church parking lot across the street, to learning how to drive a car in a local cemetery, it was your ground that I grew on. It was your ground that I made childhood friends, had my first heartbreak, and crammed my belongings into three cars to make my move to college. You will always have a part of me because without you, I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today. You taught me to accept others regardless of their differences, to lend a helping hand to anyone in need, and to appreciate everything I have, lessons that no teacher could teach me.

A few years have come and gone since then, and I have packed up and unloaded my things, but this time they didn’t land on your surface. Through it all, know that I appreciate everything I learned from you. My roots will always be planted here, and you will always be home to me.

Your friend,

Andrea