For as long as I can remember, I have longed to leave my small-town, northern world behind. I coveted warm weather, sweet tea, and sweet people more than anything else, and I let nothing stand between me and what I wanted so desperately.

What surprised everyone (and quite honestly myself), is how far I wanted to venture out. It started as looking for schools in the Carolina’s, which are a nice and easy drive right down the East Coast. We traveled there every summer to visit family and I had loved it with every fiber of my being. That’s where I wanted to go; end of story. At some point, it dawned upon me that a move that simple wouldn’t be enough to fulfill me. I wanted more: bigger, better, farther. I wanted something brand new to me that was shiny and bright and full of hope for a great future. I wanted to be lost in the best way possible.

Then one day, it happened. The University of Alabama fell into my lap and all at once, I saw everything I had ever wanted. The rest, as they say, is history.

I have always been a homebody. Sleepovers, weekend trips, and all things alike were fun…until I wanted to come home to my own bed and the familiarity of my own space. I was “safe”, mentally and physically. Despite feeling at ease, I wasn’t content. I was falling into a rut and lived in a town where history was starting to repeat itself and I knew I didn’t want that to be my reality for the next four or more years.

They say sometimes you just know, which is why I jumped at the opportunity when Alabama looked me right in the eye with a letter of acceptance, and, of course, the cool sticker that came along with it. I knew in my heart and without any doubt in my mind that Alabama, too, could become my safe place and my home.

Of course, there were friends and family who begged to differ, with questions and comments along the lines of, “Can’t people marry their cousin in Alabama?” and “Isn’t it too slow for you?”, and my personal favorite, “Isn’t it a little too far?”.

Stop. I did not come to Alabama to marry my cousin, I came here to get an education. I also understand how far it is from home. Yes, sixteen hours by car is a bit of a lengthy drive, however, we don’t live in an age of horse and buggy anymore. If I was really that desperate to get home, I knew a plane ride is just (an expensive, yet do-able) swipe of a credit card and a few short hours away. Despite how some people make it out to be, I wouldn’t be stranded on a deserted island; I would be in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, just less than an hour outside the city of Birmingham.

And yes, it is slow, but slow is what I so desperately needed. I have made the drastic move to come here and I am happy to say I have finally caught my breath. It is slow enough to allow me to take a step back and look at the big picture to see what really matters, and what is just simply clutter. After many years of searching for what has been missing, I have finally found it. Alabama is much more than screaming “Roll Tide!” with your best friend or singing our own version of “Dixieland Delight”. It is feeling at home wherever you are and whoever you are with.

My parents have been beyond supportive and I am so blessed to say that they raised me to be so independent and so sure of myself that I knew this was the best thing for me to do for my wellbeing and for my future. I made this move to better myself and to really find who I am and what I want out of life, which is exactly what Alabama is giving me.

There is certainly something to be said about starting over with a clean slate. I wasn’t afraid to take my life into my own hands when I realized I wanted something more for myself, and there isn’t anything wrong with that.

I am happier, stronger and my best self down here in the Heart of Dixie, and I can say without hesitation that packing my life up and starting over was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.