How Tennessee Became My Second Home

Tennessee is a state I have a deep personal connection to. While my first trip there wasn’t until 2017, I have returned almost every year since. Among other things, it’s where I spent 4 years of college, experienced my first love and heartbreak, and became an uncle and godfather to two nephews. Over the years I’ve collected countless stories and adventures I’d love to share from here, and it has become one of my favorite places in the United States.

I recently returned from a short trip to Nashville where I saw my newest nephew be baptized. Surrounded by family, I reflected on just how much Tennessee has meant to me over the years. So I decided to look back at the experiences that turned it from just another state into a place that helped shape who I am today.

This is the story of how Tennessee became one of my favorite places in the world, told through the trips, milestones, and memories that brought me back year after year.

2017 – My First Visit to Tennessee

In 2017, my family of 4 (parents and older brother) did one of our longest road trips we’ve ever done. We used to go on trips most summers, and my brother Justin and I had already started to keep track of all our US states. On this trip, we visited 18 states, including 11 new ones – Tennessee being one of them (I believe state #32 overall). Of course, I could never know at the time how important it would become to me.

While I don’t remember a lot from my first visit to Tennessee, what I loved the most were the historical sites. I remember visiting several plantation and war sites, including Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage – and what really interested me was the archaeological discoveries.

Something fun we did was visit my dad’s company headquarters, which was Covenant Transport at the time – based in Chattanooga. We talked with one of his coworkers, who casually mentioned a small private Christian university in nearby Cleveland, Tennessee called Lee University. Because of my interest in the historical places we had visited so far, he recommended their anthropology program, which definitely caught my attention. At the time, it was just an early college suggestion, but that conversation changed the course of my life.

2019 – Learning About Lee

Two years later, I returned to Tennessee. I had started to do research on Lee University, as it really seemed to be a great pick – and my mom especially seemed to think I would like it. So, in April 2019, I flew out for a couple days with my dad for an annual event called Lee Day in which prospective students (mostly from the South) visit and learn more about the school. I remember winning a water bottle for being the furthest student to travel there!

I ended up being very glad that my dad was there, as he ended up making me talk to a girl who was manning a table for something called Kairos. This is an honors organization which would end up becoming quite important in my life, but I’ll get to that later.

I came back in June for an event called Summer Honors, which is several weeks in which students get to live in dorms, go to classes, and meet other people their age. We also had fun events like a massive shaving cream fight, movie watch parties, and even river rafting on the nearby Ocoee River! This is when I really started to love Lee and its campus.

Looking back, Summer Honors was when Tennessee really started becoming somewhere I belonged. Yet, I still had no idea just how much the next four years would shape my life.

2020 – Navigating Campus Life During COVID

2020 was a strange year. Lockdowns forced everyone to stay at home, and I even graduated high school virtually. As college application season approached, I looked into several schools – but Lee still felt like the right place for me. In fact, it was the only college I applied to. I was accepted not only into Lee, but also into the Kairos honors program.

There was a fear that I wouldn’t get to experience my first semester in-person. But by the grace of God, I actually was able to go. It was a weird time for sure, with temperature checks, masking, and social distancing resulting in partially virtual classes. But it was when I started to meet new people and build relationships in Tennessee.

Kairos quickly became one of the most important parts of my college experience. It was an honors program with small classes and close-knit cohorts, meaning we spent a lot of time together both inside and outside the classroom. The freshman class only had 11 of us, with 1 other guy and 9 girls! I built some friendships in that group at the time, most importantly a girl named Bethany. There is also a mentor/mentee system, and through this I became friends with my mentor Elliott.

I also joined the Symphonic Band (playing alto sax), and it was awesome that we still got to play in-person. We had some fun music like Holst’s Mars from The Planets. Bethany was also in the band, which led to a deeper friendship there. I even got my first job at the public library right near campus!

COVID certainly shaped the beginning of my college experience, but my first semester was also the start of friendships, programs, and experiences that would shape the next four years of my life – and even beyond.

2021 – Friendships Bloom, Travels Abound

This was a year of great change, for both me and Lee as a whole. Firstly, I started to grow as a closer friend to both Bethany and Elliott, through long conversations, studying together, and late-night driving adventures.

Bethany invited the whole cohort to go to New Orleans with her, her mom, and her grandma that February – though I ended up being the only one able to go. Louisiana was a new state for me (#40) and I had a great time – it was odd because it was right before Mardi Gras, yet there was barely anyone around due to the pandemic. The funny part was everyone suspected there was something romantically between Bethany and I since we happened to visit on Valentine’s Day weekend, but there really was nothing!

And only a week afterwards, I did a day trip to Asheville, North Carolina with Elliott. It was a beautiful area and we had a really fun time up there.

Of course, only a month later, Bethany and I realized we did indeed have feelings for each other. It was a great progression from Kairos acquaintances to good friends to boyfriend/girlfriend, and was surprising to nobody! We were each others’ first relationship, which made everything feel even more new and exciting. Elliott will always be proud that I actually told him first! We got together the same day that spring break started, and I ended up staying with Elliott for a week in his family home in the small town of Caryville, Tennessee – northwest of Knoxville.

We had already planned on Bethany and her best friend Tia coming out to Pigeon Forge for a day, a popular tourist area in the Smoky Mountains. Tia actually didn’t know Bethany and I had started dating, and it was very fun to reveal that by kissing in front of her! Besides that, the four of us went to WonderWorks (a cool sort of science museum), and had a great time – but that’s a story for another day.

In the last couple months of the semester, Bethany and I obviously started spending a lot more time together. We started to go on more adventures, visiting state parks, going to local attractions, and even doing day trips to other states. For example, I went with her to hit South Carolina as my 41st state! This would continue upon my return in the fall.

Beyond personal relationships, Lee started to move away from COVID measures that semester, especially after the vaccine started to become available. And by the time fall rolled around, it was business as usual. I even got my own room in my dorm!

I remained in the Symphonic Band, which resumed its touring schedule. As it is a Christian university, it was common for the band to go to different churches in neighboring states, commonly during spring and fall breaks. This was my last semester in band due to changing priorities and increased schoolwork, but I remember going to Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia during fall break – and I loved it. Since Lee is affiliated with the Church of God, a Pentecostal denomination, many of these churches had a different worship style than I was used to growing up Lutheran. Even so, I always enjoyed visiting them and serving through music.

By the end of 2021, Tennessee had started to feel like home. The sounds of cicadas on warm evenings and the glow of fireflies across campus had become part of everyday life. I had found close friends, entered my first relationship, traveled around the Southeast, and settled into college life. I couldn’t have imagined what the next few years would hold, but I was excited to find out.

2022 – Deepening Connections

This ended up being the happiest year of my time at Lee. Everything seemed to fall into place. I felt settled in Tennessee, my friendships were stronger than ever, and Bethany and I had begun building a life together.

January of 2022 started off with my first real snow in Tennessee. It had snowed during my first semester, but it wasn’t very much and didn’t even fully cover the ground. But this month it lasted several days in a row, and I absolutely loved it. It’s not overly common there, but it happens just enough where you can appreciate it – especially if you don’t have to worry about driving anywhere.

My relationships also continued to deepen. My brother Justin now lived in Nashville, having started at Belmont the previous semester. Bethany was from Nashville, so we were there quite frequently and I got to see him more often. Justin and I actually got to go with her family to Thanksgiving in Florida the previous November!

Bethany and I continued to go on new adventures that year, going on hiking trails, seeing more state parks, and going on more late-night drives around the Cleveland area.

I would often stay at her house during breaks, such as spring break when we visited Delaware and West Virginia (my 48th and 49th states) with her family, or even on weekends when seeing concerts in Nashville. She absolutely loved going to concerts, and Lee was in a great spot for them. Within three hours or less you could reach Nashville, Knoxville, or Atlanta, so I ended up seeing concerts in all three cities during college. I went to concerts at each of the three during my time at Lee! For example, I saw my favorite band Sabaton as well as Twenty One Pilots, both of which were in Nashville (and incredible concerts I might add).

A particularly fun memory was in July that year. Bethany’s mom, Karen, gave me the idea to fly out and surprise her for a few days – and even paid for half the flight. I flew out on a redeye on July 3 – pretending I was just extra tired so Bethany wouldn’t question me not texting her good night like normal – and landed at 2 am.

I remember walking out to get picked up by Karen and it was so humid my glasses immediately fogged up! I have to say, I love Tennessee but that aspect has never been very fun. Luckily, it’s really only bad in the late spring to late summer.

Anyway, needless to say Bethany was extremely shocked when she walked downstairs and I happened to be there. I had joked about flying to see her but she didn’t think I was serious! It was a short trip, but one I’ll always remember. Among other things we saw the 4th of July fireworks with my brother, I met some of her friends the next day, and we did line dancing at the Wild Horse Saloon downtown my last night there.

The fall also saw Bethany and I flying twice to weddings across the country, essentially one for each of us. The first was two church friends back home in Stockton, California, and Bethany got to meet my best friend Carlos in person (the one whom I later went to Japan with). The second was her cousin in Idaho, marrying in a small town called Idaho City which was gorgeous, freezing, and blanketed in snow.

2022 was the high point of my college years. Life felt full of excitement and possibilities, my relationships were stronger than ever, and Tennessee had truly become home. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about how quickly life could change. I was simply enjoying where I was, the people around me, and the place that had become my second home. In hindsight, I now appreciate those memories even more – because I know they wouldn’t last forever.

2023 – Heartbreak & Healing

If 2022 was the happiest year of my time in Tennessee, then 2023 was easily the hardest. In fact, it was probably the worst year of my life so far.

It started off well. I asked Bethany’s parents for their permission to marry her, as I truly loved her and saw myself spending the rest of my life with her. I had a ring which was originally my late great-grandmother’s, and I planned to give it to her in late March which would have been our second anniversary.

That day never came.

Less than two weeks before I planned to propose to her, Bethany broke up with me. While I won’t get into all the details here, she had been thinking about it for a while for a few reasons, and the idea of proposal and the commitment that came with also scared her. Now, I’d like to clarify that I don’t blame her – nothing negative like cheating was involved, and it was honestly a very amicable breakup. She truly did love me, but she simply didn’t see us working out in the long run. And while that really hurt her and especially me, I can respect it now and have since forgiven her.

But at the time, it was absolutely devastating. We had become overly dependent on one another, which made the breakup even more difficult – and it really made me feel left out of Kairos basically for the rest of my college career, as she was one of the leaders there. It was the worst place I’ve been emotionally in my entire life. We did still talk some as friends for a few months, which is probably not healthy but it at least kept me somewhat grounded. But this also led to Elliott and I becoming far closer. I had been regularly going over to watch new Star Wars content at his apartment, and this also turned into therapy sessions after the breakup. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through that season without Elliott. He patiently listened, checked in on me, and reminded me I wasn’t facing it alone. He was (and still is) good friends with Bethany, which allowed him to see both sides.

Elliott graduated that May, but I still relied on him a lot when I returned to school for the fall. I would often have long calls with him, discussing our everyday lives and how my mental health was progressing. He was also able to make the drive down a couple times and hang out with me, especially since I moved into an apartment rather than still being in my one-person dorm room.

I relied on several friendships and connections that semester to stay afloat. I went to group therapy, which was a free service through our counseling center. I was uncomfortable with the idea at first since it was only 2 other girls and a male counselor, but it ended up being very healing. I deepened connections at my library job, especially with my coworker Isaiah. And Justin also came to visit for fall break, where we made homemade enchiladas, watched Star Wars, and visited Atlanta to see the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and see a partial solar eclipse. I even went on a couple short dates through Hinge, which helped me get some of my confidence back.

I also had a professor who helped me through this time. Dr. Tagayuna (or Dr. T) helped me pursue something I was passionate about, BuildTheEarth (BTE for short). It’s a virtual project seeking to recreate the planet in Minecraft, and I’ve been involved in it since 2020. I had written a statistical paper on it a couple years prior with his help, having conducted surveys in 30 languages with respondents all around the world. He wanted me to pursue it and write more, and it kept me grounded in something I loved. As such, I decided I wanted to write my final senior thesis on it. During a time when I questioned a lot about myself, having someone encourage my passions meant a lot more than he probably realized. He even invited me to Thanksgiving dinner with a couple other professors, and it made me feel very loved and included.

And at the end of the semester, I also got to meet Justin’s girlfriend, Heather, on the car ride back to Nashville. I had met her earlier that year when she came to a Good Friday service with us, but they had only started dating in September. I didn’t know it then, but she would eventually become part of our family – and another reason Tennessee would continue drawing me back well after graduation.

2023 was the hardest year of my life, but it also taught me how much I had to be thankful for. Friends, family, professors, counselors, and even coworkers carried me through a season I never expected to face. Tennessee wasn’t just where my heart was broken – it was also where I slowly began putting the pieces back together.

2024 – Seeing the Light

I was still struggling at the beginning of my final semester. Healing wasn’t something that happened overnight just because the calendar changed. I found myself fluctuating between anger, grief, acceptance, and sometimes back again. Bethany and I had stopped talking several months earlier at her request, and every week seemed to bring a new emotion to process.

Thankfully, I wasn’t doing it alone. Elliott had become one of my closest friends over the previous year, and ironically, he was now facing relationship struggles of his own. We ended up able to support each other through one of the hardest periods either of us had experienced.

Most of my connections were still back in California. For example, Carlos and I would game almost every night, and that’s still true most nights. And while I did have friends at Lee, there are a few particular visits or hangouts I remember most from people I was much closer with.

Justin was the one who drove me to school from Nashville this semester, as I had also hung out with him for a few days. He would come for my 21st birthday in February – one thing we did was go bowling in Cleveland, where I got my first ever drink (a Mike’s Hard Lemonade). The next weekend, Elliott drove down from Knoxville and spent 2 nights. We made homemade alfredo, he took some graduation photos for me, and we had an awesome time at Dave & Buster’s in Chattanooga.

In March, I had my first and really only real hangout with Isaiah before graduation, watching a movie and making homemade garlic bread and chicken tetrazzini. It’s a shame we couldn’t have done more during my college career, as I had known him for 3 years at that point – but the timing just never worked out. Then, I flew down to Florida and met my parents and Justin there. Little did we know, it would be the last trip with just the four of us.

As time got closer to graduation, I continued to work on my senior thesis about BTE. This wasn’t a required class, but it was something I just wanted to do, and I was able to present it at a local school symposium. I’d still like to get it published – Dr. T and I have done some work on it since, though it is sporadic.

It was also the last hurrah of Lee’s Anthropology program. I haven’t mentioned it much, but I had so many fun classes there, such as Linguistic Anthropology and Arabic. Most were quite small due to the limited amount of students, as well as only 3 dedicated professors. But it meant I shared classes with a few consistent people, and while I didn’t form close relationships like I had with Elliott, I would still consider them friends. Our program was unfortunately shut down in 2024, but we were all able to graduate. The final class of anthropology majors ended up being only 5 of us.

Kairos was still a presence in my life, but admittedly much less so than it had been. I still had plenty of friends there, of course. But unfortunately part of me felt like I didn’t belong there anymore, even if that wasn’t truly the case. I don’t regret having joined it at all, but it just didn’t end up quite the way I would have preferred.

One part of my life that was very consistent was my church. I had gone for about a year and a half with Bethany after we church shopped and found a local Lutheran church, but for a time after the breakup I just watched online services from back home. Eventually I decided I needed a bit of extra Jesus in my life, so I walked to church (learning Cleveland is not very walkable) and soon enough I was back to consistent services, with multiple people offering to drive me weekly – and they even often got me lunch afterwards.

And finally came the time to graduate. I had gone through 4 years of high highs and very low lows, and I emerged the other side changed and forged through hardship. The biggest surprise was having a conversation with Bethany for the first time in months. I knew Elliott would want to talk with her, so I expected it to be awkward. Instead, I felt… peaceful. There wasn’t any anxiety or resentment anymore. For the first time, I realized I had actually begun to move on.

My parents and grandparents on my dad’s side also flew out to see me, and Justin came along as well. But as memorable as graduation was, it wouldn’t remain the biggest family event of the week.

Let’s just say my parents were going to be grandparents.

Justin had privately told me and Heather’s sister Hope about the pregnancy a week prior, which of course was shocking. My parents found out two days before my graduation, and my grandparents found out the day of! To be honest, none of us were very happy with him, as they weren’t married at the time. Heather’s parents were even more displeased! We all had dinner with her family that evening after driving back to Nashville, and decided that there would be a wedding the next day.

Obviously, it was quite limited due to the extremely short notice. There were only 2 groomsmen (the best man and myself) and 2 bridesmaids. And the officiant was one of my parents’ friends who happened to be in town – luckily he had done a marriage course online and had a certificate to marry! Heather’s dress was her mom’s old one that she also happened to have, and with some adjustment it fit quite well. It was certainly a unique experience, but still quite beautiful.

And a few days later, Justin came with my parents and grandparents on a Panama Canal cruise – our last trip with the six of us.

2024 became a year of endings and beginnings. I graduated from the university that had shaped four life-changing years of my life. I began to feel at peace with a chapter I thought would always hurt. My family changed forever with the news of my first nephew, and before my graduation week was over I had watched my brother get married. It was a whirlwind of emotions, but by the time I left Tennessee that spring, I felt like I was finally stepping into the next chapter of my own life.

2025 – A Growing Family

I returned to Tennessee three times in 2025, no longer as a college student but simply as someone with family and friends there. For the first time, I wasn’t coming back for classes or campus life – but rather because this place had become home in a different way.

It started off in January with Justin and Heather’s renewal of vows – basically the originally planned official wedding with some slight tweaks. Family and friends traveled from all over to celebrate, and once again I had the privilege of serving as one of Justin’s groomsmen.

Elliott also made the trip for the reception. Afterward, he, my very good friend Thomas, and I grabbed pizza together before heading to Broadway to meet up with my family. Elliott still had a long drive back home that night, so he headed out after dropping me off, but it was wonderful getting to spend a few hours with him. As for Broadway, my old babysitter actually now lives in Nashville and is a bartender – she gave us a great deal on drinks and made us some good stuff!

Thomas and I also had one of the funniest moments of the trip. While everyone around us started to fall out of sobriety, we were chatting and enjoying the others’ antics. At one point while we were looking out the window a random woman who looked about our age wandered over, asked us our names, and started chatting about the music. She was very clearly not sober, but we’re both fairly convinced it was the first time either of us had ever been hit on!

Of course, I also got to meet my new nephew, Peter. He had been born in November, so he was still quite young. He was the first baby I ever held!

Additionally, I saw our family’s new house in the town of Kingston Springs, west of Nashville. My parents had bought it a couple months after the pregnancy announcement, and drove across the country in September 2023 to start moving in. They are now officially residents of Tennessee, and live there just over half the year. Between Peter’s arrival and my parents’ move, Tennessee no longer just held memories – it had become where part of my family now lived. For the first time, I truly felt like I had roots there.

I returned in March for Peter’s baptism and Heather’s senior recital (she is an excellent violin player). They had named me the godfather, which I was really honored by. Even though I was only there for a few days, it was probably the first trip where I realized just how much I genuinely missed Tennessee. January had been different as I was focused on the wedding, but I realized I had such a sense of joy to return to Tennessee.

Besides the baptism itself, we went to the Parthenon – a popular Nashville landmark which I had somehow never visited and a very nice place for a walk. I also went with Justin to a women’s basketball game at his alma mater, Belmont – he absolutely loves sporting events. I’m generally not much of a sports fan, but I have to admit this game was thrilling. Belmont had a crazy comeback and won on a last-second buzzer beater, making it one of the most exciting sporting events I’ve ever attended. Heather’s recital was beautiful, and afterwards I went with her, Justin, and Peter to Cook Out, a classic Southern chain which I had loved at college. It was nice to spend more time with them.

By August, I realized I didn’t need a special occasion anymore to visit Tennessee – I simply missed my friends. I hadn’t seen Isaiah and Elliott in person for over a year, and I wanted them to meet as well since they had a lot in common.

I had quite the journey getting there, which I’ll write about another day (basically I took a taxi from Sacramento to San Francisco instead of a plane) – but once there I had a wonderful time. First off, I got to see Peter and spend some time with Justin and Heather. He had already developed so much within the few months since I’d seen him!

As for my friends, Isaiah stayed with his girlfriend Leavy in Nashville proper so they could have some alone time one of the evenings they were in town, and Elliott stayed at the Kingston Springs house. I had individual time with each of them to catch up, and we had basically a full day to hang out with all of us. Just as I’d hoped, they immediately hit it off. They’re both from small Appalachian towns, share a similar taste in music, and have personalities that mesh incredibly well. Watching two close friends become friends themselves was an awesome experience.

Altogether we played some games like Catan, had some good food at home, and went to the Loveless Cafe – a historic Southern restaurant known for its homestyle cooking and amazing biscuits. And I can confirm that the food there was phenomenal! Heather, Justin, and Peter came along with us as well, so all of us had a nice time there.

After some more time at the house, Leavy and Isaiah headed out, while Elliott and I returned to Skyking Pizza – the restaurant we had visited with Thomas in January. It happened to be their birthday (August 2), so everything was half-off! Sitting outside together reminded me of so many late-night conversations we’d had during college. Life had changed for both of us, but somehow it felt like no time had passed at all. It was one of those simple moments that becomes one of the memories you treasure most.

2025 wasn’t about discovering Tennessee anymore – it was about returning to it. The places were familiar, but the reasons I came had changed. Instead of college classes or campus events, I came back for weddings, baptisms, family dinners, and long conversations with friends. Tennessee had stopped being a destination and become a second home.

2026 – Belonging

And then we come to this year, and to the trip that inspired me to write this article. Once again it was only a short visit, but somehow those few days reminded me more than ever why Tennessee means so much to me.

My newest nephew, Owen, had been born just a few weeks earlier, at the end of June. Justin’s birthday, July 12, happened to fall on a Sunday, so they decided it would also be the perfect day for Owen’s baptism. I flew out with Grandma Pam on my mom’s side, along with my grandparents Doug and Donna on my dad’s side. My other grandpa is still alive – which I’m incredibly grateful for – but he’s wheelchair-bound and stubbornly refuses to travel. When Justin and Heather asked me to be Owen’s godfather as well, I felt incredibly honored that they trusted me with that responsibility a second time.

As soon as we left the airport for Kingston Springs, I felt it again – my deep love for Tennessee. So much had happened here, so many memories had been made… and somehow this state kept finding new reasons to bring me back.

Meeting Owen was wonderful, though newborns are admittedly a little boring. Seeing Peter again, on the other hand, was incredible. He wasn’t a baby anymore – he was a toddler. He could already say a few words, his favorite being “picture,” because he loved scrolling through photos on people’s phones. I spent a lot of time just watching him do that!

An even better part was when Elliott came in late that night! He had a busy weekend, but he was able to take the time to drive all the way out to Nashville, spend the night, and hang out the next day. Elliott and I met my co-sister-in-law (Heather’s sister) Hope along with Peter at the Nashville Zoo, and we spent a fun few hours roaming around while Justin and Heather spent some alone time with Owen. Peter even pushed his own stroller some of the time! One of my favorite moments was when we were pointing out an ostrich and asked him to say it, as we had with many of the other animals (mostly to no avail) – but he actually said it decently well! We were quite impressed.

We then went to lunch with Justin as part of an annual event Nashville has called Burger Week where certain restaurants have discounts on burgers – they apparently have several events like this. We then went to his in-laws’ house, where Heather and Justin are living for a year or so while saving up money. The great thing was it was all the way in Franklin south of Nashville, so along the way Elliott and I had tons of time to just chat like the old days. We only spent about an hour there before heading back to Kingston Springs.

Of course, we returned to Skyking Pizza – a tradition we had now formed. We started off outside, though eventually went inside because it started to rain! Once again, the food was excellent, but more importantly, it was restorative to spend another evening just talking with Elliott. Even though we only had a day together, it was exactly what I needed.

The baptism was the next day, and it went great. Owen didn’t even wake up when he got the water on him, which all of us were quite surprised by! We then had a delicious breakfast afterward as the church celebrated its organist, who was leaving after 17 years to begin a master’s degree. It was then how much I had missed biscuits and gravy!

We spent the rest of the day at the Hess’s (Heather’s family), spending some much-needed time together. And then I went with Justin and Hope to see the new Minions movie, which was honestly really fun! Afterwards, we decided to go to one of the the brand-new In-N-Outs that had recently opened in Tennessee – since we were just used to having it in California. Because the layouts are all the same inside, it was honestly a surreal experience – but it was also hilarious.

For my final evening in Tennessee, I was craving Southern barbecue, so we returned to the Loveless Cafe. It was every bit as good as I remembered. The next morning, before Grandma Pam and I flew home, Papa Doug and Grandma Donna took us to Waffle House for one last Southern breakfast. It felt like the perfect way to end another trip. And from there, we were off back to California.

As I looked out the airplane window on the flight home, I realized Tennessee no longer felt like somewhere I simply visited. It had become one of the places that made me who I am.

I came here because of a recommendation from one of my dad’s coworkers. I stayed because of college. Along the way I found lifelong friends, experienced love and heartbreak, grew in my faith, watched my family put down roots, and twice became an uncle and godfather. Somewhere between all of those moments, Tennessee started feeling like another home.

I don’t know if I’ll ever live here again. Life has taken me in different directions, and there are still nearly 180 countries I hope to visit someday. But I know this much: as long as my family and friends are here, Tennessee will always be one of the places where I belong. And every time I come back, I’ll leave with another story to tell.