THE HUDSON RIVER

“Where are you from?” This question is posed to me often, and one I often find myself conflicted to provide an answer to.

Attending school at UNC-Chapel Hill for undergraduate and now for law school, I have two homes. Two homes that are strikingly different. I am used to both the Walmart in Elizabethtown that does not carry cold groceries, and the Super Walmart in Chapel Hill that also carries an abundance of Carolina blue merchandise.

But ultimately, home is where the heart is. Home is a feeling, one universally felt synonymously by all people, yet is a different place for everyone.

I appreciate the warmth feeling of home. From the sun beating down on my skin while enjoying a boat day out on White Lake to the warm feeling of my mother’s embrace, home welcomes me warmly back time and time again. Home is a friend that you don’t have to have daily conversations with, but one you pick back up right with where you left off.

While I am not a lifelong, second or third-generation Bladen County resident like a large population of its residents, especially the ones my age, I am no less a proud one. I am a firm believer that this county, and these people, have influenced me greatly over the past six years I have called it home. Moving here my senior year of high school had its challenges of course, but I believe that the move prepared me for the future. It not only taught me to be adaptable, but to lean on the shoulders of community members and to fortify relationships. Bladen County taught me to enjoy the small things and embrace simplicity, which has remained with me throughout my twenties. It also taught me to be proud of who you are, where you are from, and what makes you different. Many of my classmates answer the question “where are you from?” in one of two ways. Either with “Raleigh,” or “Charlotte.” Cut and dry. Uncomplicated. Expected. Well-known.

I now find myself returning home every weekend, eager to jump in the car and head southeast, and toward the slower pace of life that living in Bladen County entails. The simplicity, warmth, and community of Bladen County has driven off a hunger for big city living in favor of a more amiable atmosphere. An atmosphere made of two-lane country roads, the beating of boats against waves, endless fields of blueberries and grapes, and endless smiles painted upon the faces of strangers.

Bladen County. A place of exclusionary yet inviting solitude. A piece of paradise operating in the modern age with its traditional character remaining intact against all odds and attempts of innovation.

I’m from a place where life is sweeter than sweet tea, the grass grows a bit greener, and life is worth living. I’m from Bladen County.