Where I come from
nostalgia is everything.
That moment
When you arrive at that place or
smell that scent that makes you think,
Wow.
This is home.

The way my family always comes together when we cook and share stories.
No matter how long it’s been, everyone is close when the smell of mac and cheese and chicken fills the house.

School is like a haven.
After last period, being around people I trust makes me feel free.
So many inside jokes come from this time.
I wander the halls just so I can feel like I own them.

When I leave math crying because I'm laughing so hard,
I know I’ll be sore.
The jokes now forgotten made those boring classes so much better.

During any holiday having a packed house is a tradition.
Although it's crowded, nothing brings us together like board games.
Competition unites us.

Going to the old gym every Friday
to improve my back-walk-overs and cartwheels is something I’ll
always remember.

Giving my grandfather money every year for his birthday.
A dollar for every year he’s been alive, soon I'll be broke.
Making a card out of the big hotel desk paper,
folding shapes and scribbling in pen.

Going to California every summer is my favorite tradition.
Even though I left when I was two, it feels like home more than Maryland ever will. Being able to change my room to my style is the best part.

I would get up at 7 before my dad was up
and watch Tom and Jerry on Boomerang until he woke up.

He mixed cereal with orange juice because of some milk problem he had.
It always made me cringe.
But who cares, it was
Home.