My mailing address is a small town called Linden, located on the southeast side of Michigan. When I tell people at Grand Valley I am from the east side of the state, everyone just generally assumes I am from somewhere close to Detroit. In actuality, I think I have only been in or even near Detroit two or three times in my life. Even if I say I am from Linden, I don't really think of Linden as being my home town. It is about a fifteen minute drive to a town in any direction from my house. My home is the focal point for five different towns: Linden, Fenton, Brighton, Hartland, and Howell. Growing up, I feel as though I have spent an equal amount of time in each of the five towns; so, my home town is really all five of them.
I never really feel completely relaxed and at home until I am driving on dirt roads after my two hour drive from GV. Trees form dense woods along both sides of the road, only broken apart by the occasional gravel driveway and cornfield. Everything is colorful and cement is no where to be found. In the spring, the green starts to unfold from the branches of the trees around my house and small blossoms of white and pink speckle the large apple tree in my front yard. Summer brings the darker greens and bright blue of the sky and the pool off the back deck. Fall is my favorite because sweatshirts are one of my favorite things to wear while I smell the crisp air and the leaves turn yellow and orange. Even winter can be beautiful, especially after an ice storm when every small twig and branch is coated with ice and the woods seem to be reflective. I would never want to live anywhere else than the middle of somewhere close to dirt roads and trees in every direction.
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