Home

I never realized how much being from Georgia was a part of my identity until I moved to Utah for school. I love being from the south. I've grown up pretty close to Atlanta, so I haven't lived in a little country town, but all the same I feel that southern pride. Yes, I love pecan pie and peaches, but I don't have much interest in ice tea and I've never watched Nascar. When I meet someone for the first time, one of the first things they comment on is my accent...or lack thereof, but all the same when I hear a strong southern accent it makes me feel at home. I'm one of those kids who had to go to early morning seminary, though I was blessed to live very close to a temple. In GA there's a church on every corner, but they're not all LDS chapels like here in Utah and the sight of a big Gospel choir warms my heart. Summer makes me think of catching fireflies, going to Braves games, and occasionally catching a Stone Mountain Laser show- the epitome of Southern pride in action.

I miss it like crazy. I miss the humidity. I miss the diversity. I loved going to a school where white kids weren't the majority. I love my stake at home where my stake president is black, my stake patriarch is Hispanic, and during stake conference all sorts of languages are being translated. I miss the trees. I miss the road that curve and change names a million times. I love not being able to see everything around me as I'm driving down the interstate...as crazy as that may seem.

I love country music...and I don't care how many people can't stand it, I still love it. (not all of it of course...) It's kind of ridiculous how happy I am when I hear references to GA, or Tim Mcgraw's new song "Southern Voice." Maybe part of why I care to listen to it so much now is because it offers me a little bit of a connection to home.

It's interesting to recognize that I have no idea where my children will grow up. In my heart I want to take them home. Not necessarily to GA, but maybe the Carolinas, TN, Virginia...somewhere green. But who knows. Here I am engaged to someone who only remembers living in Utah and felt lost and claustrophobic when he visited GA last summer. No matter where they grown up, I know they need to find their own identity...I guess I just want to make sure that I never lose the southern part of mine. GRIT, Southern Belle, Georgia peach (that's my G-pa's favorite)...I'll take any of these names...because it's just one more thing to remind me of home.