Driving back to college after a much needed weekend at home, a song came on the radio. Zoning in on the song itself, I realized it was a Carrie Underwood song. I realize the song to her is about coming home from her crazy life as a country star, but I realized the song itself has such an influential meaning to anyone who is missing part of themselves.
In Carrie Underwood's song 'Thank God For Hometowns', she states some of her fondest memories in Checotah, Oklahoma. Underwood tells us about her own personal experiences and longings.
The chorus states:
"Thank God for hometowns
And all the love that makes you them around
Thank God for the county lines that welcome you back in
When you were dying to get out
Thank God for church pews
And all the faces that won't forget you
'Cause when you're lost out in this crazy world
You got somewhere to go and get found"
Personally, I can imagine myself as a high school senior just itching to get out of the town I've lived in my entire life. I long for the days of knowing how to get around town, knowing exactly where everything is in WalMart, and being able to tell you the street names of every corner in town. Tears occasionally well up in my eyes when I drive those familiar back roads. The community is one like anywhere else. There's something about talking to the elders in the check-out line, your waitress at a family favorite restaurant, and even the person at the dairy that makes it feel like home.
It's almost as if you had never left.
