As another Shrimp and Petroleum Festival is recorded in the books, I can’t help but to dedicate my article this week to Good Ole Morgan City. I have the pleasure of calling this little piece of land my “High School-Hometown.” Although my one true love is Pierre Part, Louisiana (my real hometown), Morgan City holds a very special place in my heart. I would venture to say that during my high school years, even though I laid my head to rest in Pierre Part, I spent the majority of my time leaving footprints in muddy yards and tire trackers on the cracked pavement of good ole Morgan City.

I owe my greatest appreciation to Morgan City for welcoming me with open arms and a beautiful view of Lake Palourde on every drive into town, even offering me the opportunity to serve as a maid of their renowned Shrimp and Petroleum Festival. Most natives of Morgan City around my age have probably thrown up in their mouths by now upon reading about how I actually like their city. Just to be clear, this is really not a sarcastic article at all. I am dead serious when I say that I have fallen in love with my High School Hometown and everything it has blessed me with. If you are guilty of calling Morgan City by its little nickname: Morgan (starts with ‘sh’ and rhymes with bitty), please let me explain why I owe your city a huge piece of my heart.

Two words: people and places.

First, I have to thank Morgan City for connecting me with my enormous tri-city family. These beloved "family" members come in all different shapes, sizes, ages, and colors. One quality that stands out among the older (or should I have said wiser) generation of my extended family is their hospitality. I can't even count on my hands and feet how many homes I've been welcomed into, whether it was for a delicious dinner or for a lengthy chat about the latest sporting event. Even now that I am away at college in a different city, my tri-city family still keeps up with me, wishing me luck for my softball games and trying to shove food down my throat every time I pass through. As for the generation of family closer to my age, this group of individuals consists of the funniest, weirdest, and most warm-hearted human beings in the world. I am forever in debt to Morgan City for intertwining my life with such lovable people. Whether I am privileged to see them every day on campus or I only get to catch up with them once a year at the festival, when a Morgan City crew gets together, a good time is absolutely guaranteed to follow. I also do have to mention a special thanks to Morgan City for providing this girl with her first love. For even though it has caused some heartache on both sides, a first love is always worth mentioning if it is indeed a real first love.

Second, the unforgettable places within Morgan City deserve some love as well for holding countless memories of sweaty summer days and chilly winter nights. Of course I had to first mention all of the people, who taught me every back street and short cut to our favorite spots. To begin with my absolute favorite, Lake End Park is one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with Morgan City. There is no place more peaceful than the wharf on a Sunday afternoon, where I can spend hours feeding bread to dozens of ducks and their adorable little baby ducklings. A very close second has to go to the one and only Seawall, where I've spent hours stargazing from the tailgate of a pickup truck as well as listened to my favorite Swamp Pop music from the bands of Rythmns on the River. I would probably be disowned by the whole city if next, I didn't mention the best Mexican food restaurant in the whole wide world: Tampicos. If I had a penny for every salsa-dipped chip I've ever eaten from that place, I'd be able to pay for every gallon of gas I've ever wasted riding around Morgan City having hearts to hearts or just jamming out with no destination whatsoever.

The list of people and places I fell in love with through Morgan City could go on forever. Hopefully now you don't think I am absolutely insane for saying that I whole heartedly appreciate being able to call Morgan City my beloved High School Hometown. From the inside looking out, your city may seem like a boring little chunk of mud and water, but from the outside looking in, I see a beautifully woven creation, full of compassionate people and exciting places. So next time you catch yourself referring to Morgan City by its catchy little nickname, just know that there are outsiders like me, who absolutely adore the place you call home and never take a moment spent there for granted.