Dear Hometown,

As I become older, I find myself looking deep inside my hometown to see something I will forever cherish. Going away to school was one of the best decisions I could have made for myself simply because as we grow, mature and become more well rounded we don't see our hometown as so much of a home anymore. Our friends go to school in all different cities and states, and our intermediate family begins to start their journey elsewhere too. However, our first hometown will always be in a part of our minds. As I wander back on the streets and roads of my town, I begin to see faces I don't recognize, people I've never met and stores I've never seen. And that's okay. It's okay to come back to the town you once called home and to see other families and friends start to live the same ways you've grown up in.

My hometown has been in my life for eighteen years. You watched my ride my first bike, buy my first dress for semi formal, go on my first date, go to prom; you saw me at my weakest and strongest, you saw me attempt to drive my dad's truck, you saw my pass my drivers test, you saw me graduate from the high school (I thought I'd never miss) and you saw me smile as I received my first acceptance letter to college. I can't thank you enough for being with me in all the important memories. A time in my life I will always treasure.

Hometown, I will always miss you and remember the times I've experienced there. I miss how small my town is, even though it seems the roads would never end. I miss running into people I could say I would never miss but deeply would, I miss talking to the same guy at the 7-Eleven, I miss running errands and I miss bumping into the same people at every stop. I miss you hometown, but my home will always follow me wherever I go and explore.

"Home is not a place, it's a feeling inside" -Unknown.