To say I'm from South Carolina is no light thing. The weight that this title carries is anchored down deep into history; it touches a lot of nerves, it holds within itself an image, a feeling, a stereotype that people from all over can recognize.

But until you've lived, breathed, and carried this place and these people in your heart and with you wherever you go, the image that comes to mind is nothing but fiction. The stereotypes you've come to believe are nothing but that - a widely held and oversimplified image. They don't even touch the surface of what it is to be a South Carolinian, what it is to wear this title, this history, this badge of honor.

When I think of my sweet state, my home, what I see is Greenville and its downtown vibrancy, Angel Oak and horse-drawn carriages in Charleston, the South Carolina State House in Columbia, the bright smiling faces of my friends and family. I taste sweet tea with lemon, feel the salt air in my hair and the warm sand in my hands. I hear genuine love in the thick Southern accents and voices of those I've grown up with and around. With all of this comes a sense of overwhelming nostalgia and euphoria; I am calm, I am happy, I am home, at least in my mind.

For those of y'all who haven't gotten a chance to see, feel, touch and taste this life I know and love so dearly, I truly hope that one day, even if for a moment, you find yourself there. But to paint you a picture of my home, of South Carolina, these images will give you a little sliver of what it is I'm trying to say.

The beauty of this place is un-comprehendable. Each corner and crevice is so vastly different from another and personally speaking, that's what makes it so great.

Recently, though, these aren't the images that my mind has been filled with, those aren't the feelings that have taken over my body. It hasn't been sweet to think of this place I call home, it's been heart-breaking, it's been extremely hard. Hard to think about, and hard to be away from.

Hurricane Joaquin, along with a mess of weather combinations, hit South Carolina more than just one time. It's been a relentless attack, it's been a disaster.

News outlets from all over such as NBC, The Boston Globe and USA Today have been sharing facts and photos that really put the devastation into perspective.

USA Today did the math and about 11 trillion gallons of rain fall hit the Carolinas in the past week alone. To take that further, 11 trillion gallons of water is:

- 636 million swimming pools that are 16x32 feet each, completely filled

- 130,370 Rose Bowl stadiums filled to the top

- Enough water to end the drought in California

At its peak, nearly 500 roads were damaged with 300 roads and 166 bridges closed, 75 miles of Interstate 95 were shut down with 19 dams breached or failed. The death toll sits at 19 in South Carolina.

These are the images of South Carolina that now enter my mind when I think of home. They're images of a reality that I'd hoped to never have to grasp.

We see and hear about natural disasters, wars and devastating events nearly every day and in some sense, we've become a bit immune to what it all really means. It's not hard to sympathize with those effected by such tragedies and with the technology we have, there's so much being shared that one can feel as if they are almost there in the events. But until it hits your home, your friends, your family, you can only sympathize, not so much empathize.

When you're from the area affected, you're not seeing the number of deaths being reported, you're seeing the faces of your hometown - a recent graduate of the high school next to yours, a student at the college your best friend attends, someone who grew up just down the street from you. The waters aren't taking over just any streets or neighborhoods, they're taking over places you know like the back of your hand, sidewalks you've traveled a million and one times. Everything becomes exponentially more personal and devastating.

But with that being said, and with knowing this sweet state in the way that I, as well as all of my fellow South Carolinians do, we know that the waters can only take so much away.

We are a strong group of people, with values that extend deep into our roots. We have love for one another that goes beyond the realms of friends and family. Everyone that comes our way is greeted with warm smiles and open arms and there's not a person we meet who is a stranger.

We are a compassionate, lion-hearted, hard working, and extraordinary group of people who cannot be labeled as anything other than South Carolinians. We are the epitome of what it is to grow, to fight back when all seems lost, and to find the silver lining in absolutely anything and everything.

We have overcome battles people could never dream of having to fight. We have faced devastation and we have come out stronger than before time and time again. We are in a situation right now that feels as if the earth has been taken out from under us, but we are thankful for what we do have.

We are thankful for each other, we are thankful for first responders and for the clean water and shelter that is reaching those without. We are grateful for sunny days and for loving arms to embrace us each night and we are grateful for another moment on this earth.

The one thing that news stories seem to be missing when covering this event is the story of the people that we are.

We hurt for what all has been lost but we are hopeful for what is to come tomorrow. We don't dwell in our own pain but look toward relieving that of others. We're searching for the ray of sunshine in the downpour of rain. We're not focused on what we've lost but what we can gain. Our minds are on the future of tomorrow and not the past of yesterday.

Because of this, I am so extremely proud and honored to say that I am from South Carolina, that those people are my people and I am comforted in knowing that even though I am 8 hours away for school, that everyone is taking care of each other. There's no better place and no better people I'd want my friends and family to be in the arms of.

We are South Carolina strong. Always have been and always will be.