A year ago at this time, I couldn't wait to leave my hometown. I was literally counting down the days. It's a cliche and typical of your average high school senior, but I wanted to leave home and never look back. Now, 365 days later, about to return to college, I find myself feeling completely different about the place I call home and reluctant to leave it in less than a week. The country duo, Florida Georgia Line, phrased my feelings the best, "I see it clearer through in the review mirror than I ever did lookin' out over the hood." As sad as it sounds, I lived in same place for 18 years and all it took was one year for me to realize just how special it is.

Hendersonville, North Carolina isn't a name that would bring a sign of recognition across anyone's face (unless you have lived there or know someone who does). It's 22 miles south of Asheville, and just above the South Carolina state line. So we are close enough to Asheville to venture there whenever we get bored, but far enough away to not claim it as our home when people realize how strange it can be. We are right in the middle of Du Pont State Forest, so I grew up playing on mountains and waterfalls. We only have a little over 13,000 residents, a main street that looks like it came out of 1950 and our biggest claim to fame is apples (don't worry Chedda, we know you'll make it one day too). To any other person, this sounds like a boring southern town, but you can never understand it's appeal unless you live there.

The four high schools in the county have some of the biggest rivalries I have ever seen, and I'm an Alabama fan so I know a rivalry when I see one (#auburnsucks). The amount of spirit the students of these schools have extends far beyond graduation. My mom attended the rival of mine and my siblings high school and we never let her forget which school is better. *coughs* *Hendersonville High* Alumni of my high school that are in their 80s still come to our football games donning their Red and White, cheering their loudest for the Bearcats. But whether you were a Bearcat, Eagle, Falcon, or Knight, you are proud of your school and will support it until the end of time.

The best friends I had at 18 years old, graduating high school, are the same people I met on my first day of kindergarten. I literally grew up with my best friends. Not only did I grow up with them, I grew up beside them. All of my best friends live less than 10 minutes from me, one even lives right down the street. I graduated with a class of about 150 people, and I could tell you all of their names and I had a conversation with each of them at least once in my high school career. It's impossible to go anywhere in town without bumping into someone you know, and I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, you know everyone in town, even people that you didn't know that you know. You meet someone and they were your Aunt's best friend's science teacher and boom it's like you know everything about them instantly. News travels fast in a small town.

Hendersonville is a unique town.There are aspects of it that you can see all over the country, but the way they all blend together is truly unlike any other town. After living away from home and speaking to others in the same boat, I've come to the consensus that Hendersonville is heaven on Earth. I've made friends from all over the country and I truly feel like I live in a place unlike any other. I'm always excited to go home, which is odd for a college student as most never want to leave school. There's nothing like being able to come home from school, Labor Day weekend and going to the Apple Festival or having dinner at Hot Dog World with the people that know me better than anyone else in the world. I may have addresses in other towns, but I will always call Hendersonville home.