Born and raised in the Keystone State, moving to a completely new state at the age of 18 was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. My dad was offered a new position within his company when I was 16, one we all knew he deserved and worked so hard for. We knew the move was coming, but when was the real question. It took two years for the house to sell, so naturally I was able to finish high school with my closest friends before we all moved to college.

Fast forward to November 2014. The moving truck came, and three days later it was packed and ready to make the long drive to the Peach State. At this point, I was in the middle of my first semester of classes at the local community college so I couldn’t move quite yet. I said goodbye to my parents and brothers and moved in with my aunt and uncle for the remaining six weeks of the semester.

During this time, I had to say goodbye to my closest friends and family, which was extremely hard. I did not know when I was going to see them again and I knew our lives were all going to change drastically.

Pennsylvania had been my home for 18 years. I learned to how to sit, stand and walk as child living next to the beautiful Blue Mountains of Danielsville. I made my first friends, some of whom I still talk to today, at George Wolf Elementary School. I went through that awkward 'tween stage attending the “rec dances” and preparing for eighth grade formal like it were prom. And I started to finally blossom into the young adult I am today through my leadership experiences with the Big 'N' Band and drama club.

Last month I was given the opportunity to go back home to Pennsylvania for a couple of days. It was while I was there I realized how blessed I really am.

Family

My entire family was still there, right where I left them. I was able to go back to my aunt and uncle's house, and it felt like I had never left. My grandmother was, and still is, living in the same house she moved into 41 years ago when she came to America. My cousins were all there, but now some have new babies, as a beautiful addition into our family.

Friends

I met up with some of my closest friends, one whom I have been friends with since we were 5-years-old. We were able to act like nothing has changed, and picked up right where we left off. But I cannot forget my very best friend. Even though we are 800 miles apart and talk every day, there was absolutely nothing like being reunited after being apart for so long.

Of course, I made new friends in Georgia, whom I love very much, but there is just something about being with your very best friend that makes everything feel right in the world. They are the one, other than your parents, who have seen you at your highest and lowest points in your life. I cannot express how hard it is to live so far away from her today and not be able to share the new experiences and people I now have in my life.

Familiarity

Even though I am learning my way around northern Georgia today, nothing compares to driving down the long and winding country roads of the Lehigh Valley with corn fields on both sides of you and the smell of freshly tilled ground pouring in through your open car windows -- one of my favorite experiences of all time.

Shopping is one of my favorite pastimes, but since moving to Georgia it has come to feel unfamiliar. I think it is due to the lack of recognizable faces in the shopping malls, rather than in Pennsylvania. At home I was able to go somewhere and often have the opportunity to bump into someone I knew, but here in Georgia that is not very likely.

Pennsylvania is the place where I learned to love and to grow. The place where I learned to become the best version of myself to show the new world I am living in today. For all of that, I am grateful and will forever call Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania my home.