I’ve lived in the same town, in the same house, on the same street since I was 4 years old.

I’ve gone to one elementary school, two middle schools and one high school with the same 400 kids my entire life.

I never thought I would miss my hometown. In fact, none of us could wait to leave, to move on, to something new, something bigger, something better. We fled quickly after graduation, eager to see what the rest of the world had to offer.

To my hometown,

I’m sorry we left. You were a town that everyone seemed to hate, yet we all still come running back. You’re the irritating, never-ending 206 traffic. The stuck up, overbearing parents of rich kids. You’re blue ribbon schools of excellence and impeccably high SAT scores. You’re green and gold Friday night football games and Sunday morning Bagel Barn bacon, egg and cheeses. You’re home.

You’re the place of so many firsts. My first speeding ticket. My first kiss. My first friend. You’re familiar, a comfortable, safe place. A place that is hard to come back to, but even harder to leave.

Your hometown is the place that builds you; the place that teaches you life lessons, traditions, values to always carry with you. It sets standards-- a set of unreasonably high expectations. Every city, every town, every state has its own little quirks; these are the qualities that make it something special.

We go off to college and we change, we grow. In fact, often times we leave home because we’ve outgrown it. You may hate me for saying this, but college is not home. I love college, I love everything about my college, but it’s a place, an experience. A home away from your real home.

You're lying if you say that you don't get excited to go home for a long weekend or a holiday break. There’s something calming about driving into your town after time away. Small things may be different, but things never seem to truly change.

You look forward to your family’s home cooked meals, showers without shower shoes, sheets that don’t smell like stale beer and frat basements. Childhood friends reunite and high school visits are in order. Your hometown bares it all -- from celebrations to tragedies. It’s the place you run to when things get complicated or scary. Home is as much as a feeling as it is a place. It’s the feeling that warms your heart and gives you baby butterflies of excitement.

Maybe I love my hometown so much because it reminds me of childhood. Within the streets lies memories -- memories of the days I spent riding my bike, playing with friends, waiting anxiously for the ice cream man. Everything seems easier at home, simpler even.

Every time I leave, I take little pieces with me. My hometown shaped me into the person I am today and for that I will forever be thankful.