There are several things in our lives that help shape us into the people that we ultimately become. For instance, our parents, friends and overall environment all influence us in ways that we cannot fully understand. One thing that carries a great deal of significance in the development of our full being is the place that we grow up. For many of us, our hometown will always hold a special place in our heart -- a patch in our soul that only the chiming of church bells and familiar back roads can fill. More than anything, I am thankful for my hometown and I’m proud of where I come from.

I’m thankful that I come from a small town and I feel fortunate that it’s a place in which everyone knows everyone and where the people join together through times of hardship. I always enjoy coming home and going to church or somewhere else in town. It’s a reassuring feeling to know that no matter how far you go in life, you can always come home to a place where most people know your name and care about you. Sometimes experiencing that type of love is all that you need to revive your weary soul.

I’m thankful for the peaceful bliss that washes over me as I drive down the familiar backroads and through countless miles of farmland. I love living in the city, but there is nothing quite like being home and experiencing the quiet serenity that I’ve come to associate with my little hometown. Sometimes you don’t realize how wonderful home is until you leave it behind to start a new chapter in your life.

With that being said, I’m lucky that I can always come home. No matter where my crazy dreams and hopeful ambitions take me, I know that I can always return to the place where it all started. Sometimes, to remind yourself what kind of seeds you are nourishing, you have to dig deeper and go back to your roots. I’m forever thankful that my roots are planted in a place that fostered the kind of growth that encouraged me to have big dreams and gave me the courage to follow them.

Lastly, I am thankful that I grew up where I did. Granted, there were times when all I wanted was to turn 18 so that I could leave, but looking back now, I’m thankful for the place that I get to call home. It’s a pretty amazing place, filled with wonderful people and I’m lucky that my hometown is what it is. Frankly, I wouldn’t have wanted to spend the first 18 years of my life in any other place.

For these reasons and countless many more, I’m thankful for the place where I grew up, for I know that parts of it are within the very fibers of my being and that my heart feels a unique kind of happiness when I am back in the place in which my life first began. I have confidence that no matter where this crazy life takes me, I will always love and cherish my hometown, and that I will always come back to the place that made me who I am.