Almost everyone has a childhood home that is the setting of some of their earliest memories. Some people may have multiple homes, while others have had one house their whole lives that plan on always having. We all leave these childhood homes at some point in our lives, but most of us come back to them eventually for things like holidays and other family events. No matter if it looks different or smells different, it always feels the same. It's your childhood home and you love everything about it. However, the day you have to pack up that house everything about the way it feels suddenly changes.

Recently, I had to do that very thing; pack up my childhood home and say goodbye to it. Seeing all of your belongings in boxes and thinking back to how long you’ve lived there and the memories you have there brings out a lot of emotion. Even though it really is just a place and just a building and your family and the people inside of the building are much more important, you feel attached and sad to leave it. No matter if you’re away at college, haven’t seen your house in years, or see it every day, having to move out of your childhood home is very emotional.

When I moved out of my childhood home I was sad, excited and very sentimental. It is very sad to see a place you have loved so much and seen be so full of life be empty. Not being able to see your family pictures or furniture in the place you have only ever seen them is a weird concept and at times, unnerving. Packing up your house also makes you very sentimental. Suddenly, every birthday party, holiday, and memories of day-to-day life flood back to memory. As my family prepared for the move, we went through tons of old photos taken at the house and I couldn’t help but tear up at all of the happy memories we had in the house. I saw all my family, friends, and pets enjoying our house and making it more than a house, a home. However, all the sentiments and sadness also brought about a lot of excitement for the possibilities of what lies ahead. Moving out of your childhood home also means moving into a new home. When we were moving out of my house, I got the opportunity to meet the new owners of my home and their pure joy and excitement about the house made me excited for them. It made me happy to know that the people who were going to be living in my house were going to be making their own memories and traditions there. It also made me excited for the new house my family was going to get.

In our lifetime, we will have many homes. You might have a dorm that you call home for a year or a crappy apartment, but none of those ever compare to your real childhood home. However, a home isn’t just the place you are, but the people you’re with. A childhood home is great, but it's temporary, and the memories and love you had there are forever.