Truth: Nothing's like 'Coming Home'

Sure, I've dreamt of being the gypsy type and going any place the wind blew. I've always thought what it would be like to not have expectations for yourself. That the quote "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there" was an epitome of my life. But at the end of the day, sometimes there's nothing more than just wanting to be at home.

Luckily, two tanks of gas and one really boring drive, can get me there. Highway 231, Interstate 10, and Interstate 75 get me back to the one place where I know certainty. In an uncertain world, what is better than dinner cooked by Momma, deep conversation with Daddy, and finding Sister still prefers Sunday afternoon naps in your bedroom instead of her own? I got that certainty recently when I went home to Oviedo for a glimpse back at "what was" and realized it's still "what is".

Truth: Things change. But when you're at home, on your piece of ground, the changes don't seem to be bad. The safety net that you're surrounded by make change an easy thing to deal with and not an emotional breakdown that seems to come when you're on your own, being gypsy-esque.

What amazed me the most was what was discovered during the 2-day "Girls Beach Trip" to Jacksonville Beach. Twelve girls who all graduated together from Oviedo High School in 2005 got together and had one of the most amazing trips down memory lane during a time in our lives that we are violently being propelled into a whole new world full of adult decisions, adult jobs, and adult relationships. I took in those 48 hours and savored the feeling of being 17 again as I watched twelve very different girls with twelve very different lives become one again. It might not seem like such a mystery to you, but to me it was surreal because I've seen friends come in my life and quickly go and when I see them out in public they act as if they never knew me. I've had boys tell me I'm the most perfect girl they've ever met and spent every waking moment with them for months, and I see them now and they act as if I am a Jane Doe.

For us girls to get together and share the laughs, relive the countless sleepovers from our younger years, and make a scene every place we went, just as we did before we parted ways, I felt fortunate to have not roamed too far, and to remember the goodness of where my roots are.

And just as I believe that your family is who you choose it to be, your home is too. As we sat around sipping cocktails in Jacksonville and realizing this may be the last "hoo-ra" of our childhood, we all had mutual respect for one another. We'd all gone our separate ways, but we'd all respected "what was" and made it "what is" and it was at that very moment that I told myself I was never going to deny that little town east of Orlando, that Austin, Texas or San Francisco, California would never be to me what that place or those people are to me, and that wherever I roam, wherever the wind blows me, and whatever amount of "gypsy" I may have in my soul, it is all because of the friends, family, and heart of where I came from.

So that's who I am, a little bit of Asheville, a whole lot of Oviedo, added with a little bit of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. No matter if you like it or not, the places you've called home are what make you who you are. As I start making those big decisions and realizing I'm at the crossroads of childhood and adulthood, I know I will take a little piece of everywhere I've been with me to the next place, and if I ever question myself, start to stumble, or need a few days in a safety net, I know there's nothing like coming home.

And for those of us who never realize that, it's a shame.

Truth: We all have our roots, and we should give those roots, no matter how deep or just planted, the credit they deserve.