I stared at my computer screen as the cool night air filled with familiar spring scents slipped in between the cracks of my window. I began to let my brain wander back to memories once forgotten. Scents bring back twinges of nostalgia as I instantly remembered nights driving around with the windows down and the music loud. If I closed my eyes I could perfectly picture the streetlights lighting up the paved roads I know so well and the laughter of my friends bellowing from the backseat.

Growing up, I gave the usual rant of a girl who idolized Lauren Conrad's Laguna Beach lifestyle. “Kansas is so boring I can't wait to get out of this forsaken place." Sometimes with a bit more aggressiveness if I was trying to prove a point to my family that I would be moving far, far away to escape the chaos that is Christmas Eve in my home.

With the anticipation of warmer nights comes planning for the three-month vacation. Instead of worrying about who is going to throw a party the first night of summer, girls are feverishly searching for internships and stressing about getting into the right summer classes. I realized that not all my friends would be in the same zip code this summer, and that inevitably, there would come a time that summer would just be another season and no longer a vacation. And just as quickly as the seasons change, so do the summers. I started to notice a difference during the summers spent in high school. With each one came new adventures and new memories.

The summer going into junior year, with newly issued licenses and too many key chains weighing down our keys, my friends and I wasted away the days poolside and spent the nights pretending we were much older than we were. The summer where innocence was released from our vocabulary, and we explored all that Johnson County had to offer a bunch of 16- year-olds with full tanks of gas and nowhere to go.

The next summer was one of pure anticipation. With senior year in the distance it felt as if we were on top of the world. Looking back it was probably the last real summer I'll ever have. Still managing to somehow get away with little to no responsibilities, time was well spent similar to the summer before; this time maturing just slightly by being allowed to spend co-ed weekends at Lake of the Ozarks and attending the average high school house parties here and there. We became qualified in the art of tailgating at the Kenny Chesney concert at Arrowhead Stadium and spent many other nights right next door at Kaufman to cheer on the Royals.

A bittersweet May brought what would be an incredible summer saying goodbye to our teenage years and the friends that came with them. Graduation parties filled calendars, and college shopping to-do lists were plastered on fridges. Shopping for recruitment was a three-month long process to find the most “I still have style, but I know how to clothe myself appropriately" dress. Then inadvertently buying about 10 pairs of the same high-waisted jean shorts instead. The last weeks were mixed with eagerness and sorrow as I shed my comfortable Kansas City life for the great town of Lawrence, Kansas.

Now as I sit in my bed and try to grasp that I will never live those kinds of summers again I wonder what this coming summer will bring. Specifically remembering the first summer home from college, which was so different I can't even begin to describe it all in one paragraph. I stared blankly at the “location" section of an online job search website for the summer, mentally going back and forth between my future and my past. I was stuck somewhere between wanting new experiences and holding on to bits of the past. After I began to type, it wasn't fear that stopped me from entering a new city into the search bar, but the realization that I wasn't searching for a new home. I already had one.

I began to realize that I am more than alright with spending another summer in the city I call home. It may not have a Manhattan skyline, or a Sunset Boulevard, but it has streets lined with memories of my past. McDonald's that aren't just regular McDonald's but designated meeting places before parties. Playgrounds and Quik Trips that all mean different things in my eyes and remind me of all the moments that makes up the last 20 years of my life. These sights, smells and people are all the reasons why I call Kansas home. I have dreams and places I'd like to visit one day, but for now, at least, I am not ready to give up the calming warm air of the Kansas summers I'm so accustomed to. So, I'll continue to drive my familiar streets with a full tank of gas, nowhere to go and laughter coming from the backseat.