Foothills Times January 2014 Vol 34 May 2014 | Page 23

I

thought I was a city gal until I moved to the city. No, not New York; I'm talking about its less popular, geeky
little cousin—Washington, DC. Last September I accepted a job as a journalist in the heart of the city.

Yes, I am blocks away from The White House and all the hulking monuments that capture the spirit of this great
nation of ours. I take the metro to work every morning where I'm sandwiched between pea coat-wearing strangers
and germy hand rails. I pay over a grand a month for rent, and I have cuisine from all other the world at my
fingertips. I live five minutes from Arlington Cemetery and I breathe the same air as President Obama. But I'm not
here to talk about Washington. I want to brag on the place we all call home—a place I never thought I'd miss.
If you ask my coworkers here in Washington, they'll tell you I'm obsessed with my home state. “What's so great
about North Carolina?” They ask. I quickly jump into a monologue about Southern hospitality, sweet tea, decent
motorists, vinegar-based barbeque and Cookout restaurants. I talk about watching “The Andy Griffith Show”
with my dad as a kid and the fishing pond behind our house. I talk about how even the air and skies are different in
the South.
I haven't always had this passionate appreciation for home. There was a time not too long ago when I wanted to be
anywhere else but there. I couldn't wait to leave the small town of King and my high school classmates in the dust. “Ha ha!” I
would shout. “I'm gonna be somebody! Farewell small town folk!” Now that sounds pretty rude, doesn't it? A lot of people
think that way. I was one of them a year ago. I thought that if I could just get away, I would finally bloom into the bright
young woman I knew I could be. A change of scenery would do the trick, right?
Little did I know my southern roots wrapped themselves tight around my ribcage, and they squeeze on my heart a little
each time I see an old friend married on Facebook or when I phone home. Do not misunderstand me; I am extremely
grateful for this opportunity. I wanted this, and I am in love with my job and my new friends. But there's something to be
said about having a longing for home so deep in your bones it makes you want to hop the next plane no matter the cost.

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