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               Two hurricanes in three weeks—life has been hectic. Seeing the images of the destruction caused by two hurricanes is saddening, especially when you see the pain in the eyes of your neighbors. Places I loved in Wilmington are now gone. North Carolina has changed, but one thing has remained the same: the strength of North Carolinians is powerful, and we love this place we live. We may complain about the weather or other circumstances, but we wouldn’t trade life here. We are warriors in every sense of the word. I saw on the news that North Carolina was the #1 spot in the US hit with natural disasters because of the mountains in the West and the ocean to the East. Through it all, we are strong and resilient.

It was hot and humid, and then Michael came, and it’s Fall now. It dropped about 20 degrees in his wake. If you know me well at all, you know I love summer, and I love hot and humid. Now, I am not talking like 100+ degrees and 100% humidity every day, but I think the perfect weather is 80 degrees, sunny, and about 50-60% humidity. I do appreciate Fall, though—don’t get me wrong. My wardrobe is cuter in the fall with sweaters and jackets to layer. Plus, here in North Carolina, Fall brings the changing of leaves, and it is gorgeous. Today, there is a nice rain falling and a warm breeze. North Carolina is amazing this time of year, and it’s one of my favorite parts about living here and being home.

               Home is an interesting word. Words are my life—I love learning about them, and what they mean. I choose them carefully, and I use them wisely. The dictionary says home is, “one’s place of residence,” and another definition is, “a place of origin.” Pretty standard (Merriam-Webster). But my favorite, the one I would use to describe living in North Carolina is, “a familiar or usual setting, congenial environment, also the focus of one’s domestic attention” (Merriam-Webster). So, it goes, my place of origin is Minnesota; however, I do not claim Minnesota to be home. In fact, I would say that I am more connected to Wisconsin than I am to Minnesota. My mom gives me a hard time because I am a Green Bay Packers fan, but she was a Minnesota Vikings’ cheerleader. For whatever reason, I like Wisconsin sports’ teams, and I have for most of my life. But, the focus on my domestic attention is North Carolina. I am comfortable here. It is familiar and congenial. Here, I am home.

               I have lived A LOT of places, and none has made me feel the way North Carolina does. No matter where I have been since we moved here, I have always wanted to go home. Indiana was too cold and suburban. Utah was the desert—I missed green. Pennsylvania was miserable—the people weren’t friendly, and it was gloomy weather there a lot of the time. I cried almost every day I lived there. In North Carolina, we have four seasons (sometimes in one day!), and the sun shines pretty often. Even when there is rain in the forecast, the sun might peek through. Today, it came out for about an hour. Before all of these “damn Northerners” as I like to say—those from NY, PA, NJ, Boston, etc. started invading the land, NC was friendly. It still is for the most part. North Carolina has a down home, old school, traditional feeling. I love it. I have friends, who have been here their entire lives, and never have left and don’t plan to. That is me now. I want to retire here, and be buried here, when the time comes. I get the urge to travel or move about every three years, but I always want to return back to North Carolina.

               To visit North Carolina is to love it. We have the best of both worlds: the beach is two hours to the East, and the mountains are two hours to the West. Well, from where I live anyway. Honestly, I wish I was born here. I wish I was raised here. I think about how life would have been different, but you can’t think that way. I did tell my dad a few weeks ago that moving to North Carolina was the best decision he and my mom ever made.

We moved to North Carolina when I was fifteen. I was angry at my parents when they told me we were leaving Minnesota. As a moody teenager, I thought my life was over because I was leaving all my “friends” and the life I knew. But, what I learned when I moved to NC, is that you learn who your true friends are. Until Facebook came to be, I kept in contact with one of my friends from Minnesota. One.  Honestly, when she passed away, there were no reasons for me to visit MN anymore. Yes, I still have family there, but for me, the bad there outweighs the good. I do not feel connected to Minnesota in any way. I know that people who live there do not understand, and I don’t expect them to. It doesn’t have to from them, as long as it does for me. And it does.

From the moment we arrived in North Carolina, things were different. I almost instantly had friends. Camber and Linda introduced themselves to me my first Wednesday at youth night, and we still talk today. In fact, Linda and I just had dinner together a few weeks ago.  From the beginning, I felt like I belonged somewhere. There’s something to say for belonging…I never felt that in Minnesota. Maybe that’s why I love it here, and don’t feel any attachment to there. When people ask me where I am from, I say North Carolina. When they respond I was born in Minnesota, that’s where I am from, it bothers me. For one, no one should tell you where you are from, and where you are from is determined by who you are, not where you are born. Second, I have lived here for more than half of my life. I qualify as a North Carolinian now 🙂 I am native—I sit on the porch and do nothing. I never understood porch sitting, until I spent a summer here. There is a reason you porch sit. It’s too hot to do anything else! Hahaha! You do get to enjoy the beauty of the Carolina sky, which is my favorite thing about living here. I love that I can spend time in nature, and there’s a special sereneness about life here. I love the simplicity. I love life. I love North Carolina. The Chairmen of the Board were not lying when they said, “Carolina Girls—the best in the world.” I believe I exemplify those words, and there truly no place like home.