Dear Columbus,

Dear Columbus,

The day I drove my shiny new car into this town I was nervous and a little lost. Google maps got me close but was unable to guide me all the way to my destination. I didn’t know where anything was, I was hungry, I was tired, and I had absolutely no idea what to expect or even where to start. The trees in Mississippi were much taller and leafier than the ones I was used to in Colorado. There were vines climbing up everything and I seriously couldn’t see what was past the road because of all the vegetation. I grew up in a desert valley in Colorado and this kind of scenery was reserved for movies and pictures of foreign places. I felt a little claustrophobic, and I imagined alligators were waiting for me in every canal (they weren’t).

However, despite these discomforts I was determined to prove I was an adult and knew what I was doing. It didn’t take very long to prove to myself that I was wrong. I had no idea what I was doing. The dorm I was assigned had a closet kitchen and I found spiders in my shower every morning. In Colorado we didn’t worry about spiders. They kept to themselves under the house. Here in Mississippi – they thought they were a part of the family. I was out of my element completely. I’m not sure I would every say that Columbus MS ever became “my element,” but I adjusted. Fun fact: Windex cleans windows and kills spiders.

In time, this little town was good for me. I met classmates who became some of my best friends, and I practiced my patience in dealing with some of my less than favorite people. I learned a whole awful lot. Some of it was fun and exciting, some of it was painful and cringy. Honestly, a lot of it was painful and cringy. On more than one occasion I found myself staring at myself in a mirror over a bathroom sink convincing myself “this is worth it.” There were also several occasions I found myself cussing under my breath. It was all a part of the process.

And while I know that it wasn’t necessarily the town of Columbus itself that helped me grow over the last 18 months – it was the place that hosted these trials and triumphs and hard learned lessons. It is never a place I believe I will ever call “home”, but it was my first house, my first place, my first big girl job. If it wasn’t for the existence of this little town, I may not have ever met the group of people I’ve grown so fond of. I may not have accomplished the things that I have. I may not have grown the same way.

Now though, it is time to move on. It is a bittersweet goodbye to this place. I’m moving to a much prettier part of the country, to a better paying job placement and in with my husband. My comfort zone that I had formed here is being disrupted yet again.

So, Columbus, let me just say thanks. Thank you for bringing into my life some of the best friends I ever had. Thank you for teaching me how to put my dreams into action. Thank you for humbling me to tears. Thank you for being the first place I was ever “on my own” and thank you for only being temporary.

As always, I am but a work in progress.

Cheers.

KANB