On Harrisonburg

Last week, I wrote about concerts. The two concerts I went to over the weekend were both amazing — in part because of the people I was with. For the first concert, my dear Taylor and Kat came down from Chapel Hill and Virginia to go see Banks with me. Then, my wonderful former roommate Autumn came down from Greensboro to see Lizzo with me and two of the friends I’ve been so lucky to have met in Charlotte. For both experiences, it was marvelous to take friendships founded in college and apply them to our new lives in a new city.

Yesterday, Ben & I drove up to Harrisonburg — our college town, which happens to be right by his hometown — for one night to see one of his favorite comedians and catch up with some friends. It’s hard not to reflect when in a week’s span I’ve seen friends from college outside of that environment and also returned to that former home.

It’s no secret that Harrisonburg has a special place in my heart. I’ve talked about it plenty on this blog, even. But as time goes by, I find I know fewer people still in that beautiful mountain (or valley?) town. I’m so thankful we do still have loved ones there, but even if we didn’t, I believe it would still hold value to me.

Harrisonburg is a small town with a big heart — the Friendly City. Every time I drive there, I get swallowed up in the mountains as they start appearing along the sides of Interstate 81. Every time I visit the co-op, I think of all the late night trips there, or when I went there with my grad cap still on after graduating. Every time I go to Black Sheep Coffee I think about what it felt like to get a job there years ago, the friends I made, the ungodly amount of coffee I drank. Every time I drive past campus I think of the organizations I was in — all the long nights spent doing work for The Breeze, or rushing to the station for my WXJM radio show. I think of my first look at campus from the bottom of the quad on South Main and how I knew even in high school I wanted to give campus tours. And every time I go to Benny’s, I think of going there with friends after a night out, grabbing lunch there with Autumn, and — most importantly — my first date with Ben.

I’m so thankful for that mountain town and the people it brought me. Thankfully, since Ben is from that area, we’ll always have at least one reason to go back and see it again. It’ll always feel like a home.