Dear hometown,

You and I have been together for almost nineteen years. Nineteen years full of tears, smiles, lessons, and memories. You’ve seen me succeed and excel and cheered me on. You’ve seen me fall during trials and tribulations and were always there to pick me up. As much as I didn’t want it to happen the time eventually came for me to pack up my belongings and leave you and my life behind. Unlike most high school seniors I never counted down the days until graduation, I never complained about how much I wanted to leave, and I honestly wasn’t looking forward to college. That’s because you’ve made life for me so great, but now that I am here on a college campus in an unfamiliar town the love and appreciation I have for you has grown tremendously. Driving down Main Street and through your only stoplight as I left was the first time it really sunk in I wouldn’t get to enjoy all the big and little things you and I have been through together. This is a letter to remanence on all our good times, sad times, and to thank you for all of them.

Despite what interstate drivers may think, you aren’t a rundown truck stop for travelers. You are a home, my home. A home where I find peace, friends, and family. There aren’t many places left where you can drive downtown and recognize a smiling face every direction you look. When I’m driving down your Main Street my arms get tired from waving at every passing car. There aren’t many places where cheering on the sidelines of a Friday night football game makes you a small town celebrity. Friday nights are solely reserved for watching football, not because it was the only thing to do but because that was the place to be and if you couldn’t make it you bet it would be playing on the local radio station! When our team was playing in the big rivalry game, or our team made the playoffs, basically everything in town shut down. Anyone that gets the opportunity to visit you will be overflowing with spirit and pride, because that’s what we live for.

Looking back now I never imagined myself sitting in a dorm room, writing this letter to you. It feels like yesterday I was walking down the halls of your high school thinking this part of my life would never change. Some parts of me wishes it would never change but I realize now that it’s my time to go out in the world and make you proud. I have always said that I wanted to make an impression on you, but looking back it was you making the impression on me. I’ll always have my small town roots that I am so proud of. I’ll always remember the lessons you have taught me. Tim McGraw’s song Humble and Kind is just a few examples of all of the things I have learned from you and I will carry with me throughout my life; “Hold the door say please say thank you, don't steal, don't cheat, and don't lie. I know you got mountains to climb, but always stay humble and kind. When the dreams you're dreamin' come to you, when the work you put in is realized let yourself feel the pride, but always stay humble and kind.” I believe that it is important to remember where you came from and thanks to you I will always stay humble and kind.

College is a hard and ever-changing time in a young adult’s life; however, when I mosey my way back into the county lines I’m ever so familiar with, I’m at home. Thank you for always being consistent. Thank you for teaching me that it really does take a village to raise a child. Hometown you are full of wonderful people that have helped mold me into the person I am today. You brought me to my closest friends seventeen years ago in daycare. We are all so blessed to have the opportunity to grow up together in the best place in the world, but hey I’m a little biased. The memories we’ve made will always stay with me no matter how far away I travel, or how long I am gone, you’ll always be with me. Thank you for everything.

With love and gratitude,

A small-town girl missing you