As I was driving home from finishing up yet another stressful year of college, I got to thinking about home. I never realize how much I missed the small town feel until I feel that the sudden feeling of peace of when I cross into the familiar territory of Lincoln and Potawatomi County and then shortly followed by the annoyance of getting stuck behind a tractor going 35 miles an hour in the highway after I had already been driving for almost two hours.
As I was slowly passing each individual place along the main street on my way to my parent's house, I started recalling memories from most, if not all, of the places. All of the places I walked with my friends after school and before basketball games, the places where I fell in love for the first time, and the places where I felt the most heartache. The gym where I spent numerous hours sweating, bleeding, and killing myself to be the best basketball player I could be and the school where I learned everything I would need to excel in college to pursue my dreams. Each memory from each place flashed in my mind like a dramatic movie as I drove the five miles out of town to my house on the outskirts of town. My heart swelled as I saw all these memories flash before my eyes, and I could feel a smile creep up on my face.
Some people tell me that I would like city life better if I ever tried it and had been raised there. But not feeling welcome is not something I want to feel. I knew everyone's name in my graduating class and they knew mine. When I'm at home, I can never walk into the grocery store without running into someone I know, and if I'm ever caught doing something I shouldn't, someone calls my mom and she knows about it even before I realize what I did. That feeling of small town living is one of the warmest feelings, that in my opinion, one can ever feel.
Even though I moved away from home to go to college, I know that this place will always be my home. These warm and familiar feelings will always stem from these memories and these roots that made me the person I am today. Prague, OK will forever be my home—this fact will never change. And for this blessing, I am forever grateful.
