Dear Lynchburg,

Remember when I showed up for my freshman year of college and said "there's no way I'm staying here after college?" Yeah, me too. And now I've moved here for an indeterminate amount of time. So what happened? How did I go from the girl who wanted nothing more than to move back to Charlotte to the girl who made the choice to stay? Three things. A job, a boy, and the feeling that Lynchburg had started to feel like home. I guess that's what four years in a college town will do to a person. I will say, my mom was thrilled that my time up in the Hill City didn't end at graduation. Four years of moving me back and forth had started to feel pretty comfortable, and she was so excited that she would still get to make the trip up. And I will say, getting to run up and down actual mountains is a very nice challenge. Hills in Charlotte are speed bumps compared to the ones in the aptly named "Hill City." Running anywhere else in a piece of cake compared to the trails in Lynchburg. Don't believe me? Just check out this elevation profile of one of the half marathons here.

Those big spikes going up around the first and fourth miles...yeah you're running to the top of a literal mountain. Believe me, over 2000 feet of elevation total is pretty killer. And those "little" looking hills towards the end are a lot harder than you might think. If you like running or mountain biking on trails that will challenge you and possible break you, Lynchburg is for you.

Compared to Charlotte, Lynchburg is kind of small. Growing up in a big city taught me a lot of things, especially about driving. In Charlotte, a yellow light means gun it (most of the time). In Lynchburg, that's not always the case. Which is probably safer, but can be a little bit frustrating for a non-native Virginian driver. One thing that doesn't differ between Charlotte and Lynchburg, however, is the lack of people using their turn signals. Maybe that's just a nationwide problem. I'll admit that I'm probably one of the more aggressive drivers here, and it's been a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to navigate this town without using my GPS, considering some roads have both a name and a number, and different people call them different things. However, I've learned through the years here that Lynchburg is actually a little bit bigger than I previously thought. It's continuously growing and changing, especially the downtown area.

One of the things I really appreciate about Lynchburg is the growing number of small local businesses. We do have your typical chain restaurants and retailers, because let's be honest, college kids would likely riot if we didn't have Chipotle, Starbucks, and Walmart. However, we also have small local community coffee shops like The Muse, Third Wave, and The White Hart which not only rival, but in my opinion definitely surpass Starbucks in terms of taste, atmosphere, and service excellence. We have Dominos, but we also have Rivermont Pizza and Waterstone, which serve up some of the best wood-fired pizzas you'll find. The number of local businesses grow every year, and they thrive in this ever-expanding college town. We have a Dick's Sporting Goods, but if you're looking for local running and cycling stores, Riverside Runners and Bikes Unlimited offer so much more. Plus, both stores have weekly group runs and bike rides that anyone in the community can join. Since my freshman year of college started in 2012, I've learned that there's more to Lynchburg than meets the eye.

If you're into outdoorsy adventures, The Blue Ridge Parkway is just a 20-minute drive away, and there are numerous hiking spots close by, many of which are on the Appalachian trail. One notably cool spot, Spy Rock, offers a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains at the top. The view is probably a lot more colorful during the fall months when the leaves have changed, but considering these pictures were taken in February, the leaves were gone and the aforementioned boy and I were blessed with some snow-covered peaks when we reached the top.

If you like mountains, Lynchburg has a ton of them.

Lynchburg, you continue to amaze me with each adventure, and with each day. You're a lot bigger than I thought, and you have a lot to offer. Thanks for becoming like home to a wandering college kid, especially since I was reluctant to ever call you my home in the first place.

Love,

One of your newer residents