"Lawrence is so boring. I can't wait to get out of here!" As a middle and high school student, I uttered these words at least once every weekend, if not more.

In middle school, my friends and I would spend our summers walking through the blazing sun in search of something to do to ease our boredom. We didn't have cars, so we'd spend our time wandering over to McDonald's to spend what little money we had on dollar menu snacks.

High school flew by and as college grew closer, my peers were all thrilled about finally being able to leave Lawrence and move on to something bigger and better. However, now that everyone is packing up and heading to college, I realize how glad I am to be staying here to attend the University of Kansas.

I've grown up here my entire life, so unlike most new and confused students, I won't experience getting lost on campus, or driving the opposite way on the one-way local streets, Tennessee or Kentucky.

Lawrence, Kansas is an amazing town to grow up in. It's not too big, nor too small and each one of its approximately 90,000 residents is a unique member of the community. Growing up attending games at Allen Fieldhouse and strolling Massachusetts Street has been a part of my life I wouldn't trade for anything.

Lawrence, and especially the University of Kansas, holds so much tradition. From seeing Dennis roaming around downtown, waving the wheat and hopefully walking through the Campanile at graduation, I truly cannot wait to be a part of it all for the next four years.