If you were to look for my hometown on a map I'd have to hand you a magnifying glass and wish you the best of luck. If by some miracle you were able to find the speck on the map just east of Philadelphia named Riverside, NJ you would see where I had spent the first 18 years of my life.

Going to college was like it is for many people, the longest I've been from my home. Traveling seven hours away from my square mile town to even a small school like Niagara University, takes some getting use to. However the moment I realized the largest change was when I returned back to Riverside.

Yes all the buildings are still standing in the same places and most of my friends are still hanging around but being away from home has changed some things. Back not so far when I was in high school, I would be so used to driving down the same roads and hanging around the same people I began to not realize how great those times were.

The feeling of missing home hits me hardest when I drive past the field I spent most of my high school career playing baseball and soccer on. All the sprints and cold March days out on Hooker street field may have seemed awful at times, but I would do anything to go back to playing for the Riverside Rams. I relive winning back to back division titles and celebrating the right to the first-base side of the mound. All those memories are now summed up with a simple white '2014' and '2015' on a banner in the gymnasium.

Even though I miss my days of being back home, I can thank that small town that sits along the Rancocas Creek for making me who I am today.