So many people talk about why Nashville is their favorite city, how they could never leave this beautiful state, and why it will always be home to them.
Honestly, I don't see where they're coming from.
I've spent my entire life here in Tennessee and I couldn't be more excited to get away.
I tell everyone that it's on my bucket list to live in another state for at least a year because I crave the feeling of unfamiliarity, of not knowing anyone, of using my GPS to find a grocery store, of eventually learning my way around a new place, of meeting new people outside of my perspective.
I used to not be okay or comfortable with those feelings until my routine was shaken almost two years ago.
My feelings of safety and comfort were ripped away from me and I was left with this feeling of not knowing myself, or of home. I felt stranded and I didn't know what to do.
I was left in the dust and I felt like I had no other choice than to start from the ground in rebuilding myself.
I didn't know who I was, so I turned to God to guide me.
If you've read any of my articles, it's obvious I depend and rely on God for everything in my life and I'm not scared or ashamed to admit it.
God knew what He was doing in the timing of sorrow in my life and I wouldn't change it for the world.
What I gathered from the entire experience is that I can't place my expectations, motivations, and perceptions in the people and things around me because materialistic things are never permanent.
Nothing about this world is permanent.
I realized that I'm just traveling through on my way to my eternal Home.
And with that realization came with facing the thoughts of Tennessee not being my forever home. A place where I can't see myself staying. A place that I will eventually leave behind, sooner than I think.
For many of the people I graduated with, they continue to talk about Tennessee being their home and where their heart belongs, but I don't think that could even possibly be further from the truth for myself.
The truth for me is that I feel at home in a place that is over 400 miles away from Nashville. A place I long to go to and experience wholeheartedly. A place that I can't wait to explore with my GPS being my best friend.
Tennessee, you're not for me, but it's okay. You will always be a place that has taught me everything I know and lead me to becoming the person I am today.
