Throughout my senior year of high school, I continued to hear “I can’t wait to get out of Mobile.” Numerous fellow students aimed for colleges out of state -- whether nearby, like in Georgia, or further away, like in Virginia. While I understood my peers’ sentiment of yearning to leave, I failed to resonate with it. Mobile, Alabama is home to me.
So, while I am relocating to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for college, I will certainly, without a doubt, long for Mobile and its familiarity.
I will miss the unpredictable weather. Each day, you ask: is it going to rain? The answer: probably -- no matter what the weather channel says. With an annual precipitation of 65.28 inches, Mobile is the eighth rainiest city in America. Strangely, I know that I will ache for the sudden onslaught without a raincoat or hoodie; however, my curly hair certainly won’t miss the city’s humidity.
In Hattiesburg, there is not a USS Alabama that my dad never failed to point out as we passed by (nor did he forget to mention that school children raised almost $100,000 to help bring the ship to Mobile Bay). In Hattiesburg, there is not a local chicken fingers chain called Foosackly’s that possesses an -- almost -- cult following in Mobile. In Hattiesburg, there are not beautiful Azalea Trail Maids at every prominent local event. Hattiesburg is not the birthplace of Mardi Gras, and I doubt the seafood is as delicious. Growing up surrounded by all of this, the bay, and more, I will pine for Mobile’s local sights and what the city offers once I leave.
My mom, a Mobile transplant, once described the city as “the biggest small town." A terribly true statement, since a friend’s ex-girlfriend is friends with my new coworker. Another coworker’s boyfriend works with an ex-boyfriend of mine. Someone I recognize comes in every other shift I work. I attended high school with friends I made in elementary school. With these endlessly intertwining social circles, it is amazing that we don’t know each other’s social security numbers by now. So, while I look forward to meeting new faces in Hattiesburg, I will miss the familiar ones here.
Keep in mind that I am not saying that Mobile is perfect -- it is flawed like any other city on the map. The Wallace Tunnel on I-10 is annually bottlenecked by beach traffic in the summer. The Mobile County school system is imperfect as well as the butt of endless jokes. Some of the city's population’s views are backwards. I could go on, and yet... Mobile is home.
In the end, I eagerly anticipate attending college in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Honestly, I do. I embrace this new adventure with open arms, and I can not wait to learn more about my new home. However, I still find comfort in knowing the fact that Mobile, Alabama will always be there for me.
