"You leave home,

You move on,

You do the best you can.

I got lost in this whole world,

And forgot who I am...."

-Miranda Lambert (The House that Built Me)

Dear Tiger Town,

Most people look back on their childhood homes and remember the building of their foundation. Sure, there are lots of families that frequently have to move and heartbreakingly, there are the families who don't even have a home to call their own. I have found over time though, that even people in those situations look back and have a special place where they came "into being".

I lived in the same house for fifteen years, the same vicinity for nineteen years, the same state for twenty-two years,

.......and I never established my roots.

I wish I could say I loved the town I was raised in the way I love Clemson, but when I moved here, I finally found out what it felt like to have a hometown. I found a happiness I don't think anywhere else in the world could've given me. The people, my church, the scenery, the pride, the traditions, the sense of community - all of it make for the best place in the world.

"I know they say you can't go home again,"

But what if it is for the very first time?

I faced a lot of heartbreak over the years and you gave me a fresh start. You became "my hometown". The "just needs love" house got fixed up and soon became a home - my home. The National Championship winning Tigers became a team that I root for, that I know about, that I love. I met people, I made friends, I achieved things on my own for the very first time in my life - in my town, in Tiger Town.

I'm not saying that I couldn't have done these things somewhere else, but I fell in love where Death Valley meets the Foothills and I wouldn't want it any other way.

I don't know that I'll be here forever - chances are that I won't.

But you helped me find myself when I didn't know where I was heading.

Whenever I need to come home, now I know where to go. I have never felt that way before.

Thank you for being the place that built me.