Dear Galesville, Wisconsin:

If you would have asked me how I felt about you a few years ago, the answer would probably have been far from anything too loving.

I used to anxiously anticipate the day where I could leave you for a bigger, more exciting place. It wasn't uncommon for me to find myself daydreaming about living in a gigantic city like the characters in my favorite books.

But now, I can hardly wait to come back to you.

You are hardly the kind of place that people would come to for adventure. In fact, the most exciting things to happen to you for a long time were the high school basketball team making it to state and the new Dollar General by the stoplights.

But that's part of your charm, Galesville. While everything in our lives is changing, we can count on you to stay the same. You have the same friendly neighbors, the same gas station, and the same small businesses.

In the summer, I could always count on days at the pool, bike rides at the park, and fireworks over the baseball field on the Fourth of July. Fall was all about gigantic leaf piles in the front yard, cheering on the football team, and picking out the best costume for the elementary school's class Halloween party.

When the first snowflakes of winter fell, I remember praying for days off from school, Christmastime at my Grandparents' house, and playing on the mounds of snow the plows built up over time. Eventually, we all watched that snow melt into springtime (finally) which meant summer was right around the corner.

For the first 18 years of my life, you were the inevitable, consistent background of my life.

It wasn't until I had to leave you that I realized how much I took all of that for granted. You are where I started my life and where all of my best memories come from. You are where I went to school, made my best friends, and where I started to find myself. You are where my family is, and most importantly, a place I know I can always come back to.

Even though I love the life I'm making for myself and I don't know where it will eventually take me, I will always be proud to be from my small farm-town.

I may have outgrown you, but like a comforting baby blanket, you will always have my heart.

So thank you, Galesville. Thank you for giving me such a good start to my life and for being a strong foundation to build my life off of.

Love always,

Mackenzie