I've got Texas in my soul. I have an uncanny ability to bring it up in most any conversation if need be. When I was asked if I had left the local "country" bar Friday night, I said, "No. That place is a joke. I have boots on because I'm from Texas and that's how I roll."
Living out of the greatest state in the union is pretty depressing sometimes. Some people leave their hometown and never look back. That's not me. When you come from a place that's as an important a part of you as anything else you do, it never leaves you. I know I'll go back, and so does Texas.
On nights like these, where it seems I'll never make it back home, I clutch the things that remind me most of the place that made me who I am.
Sometimes it's music. Pat Green, Reckless Kelly, Eli Young, Stoney Larue.
Other times it's a long drive. No Texas city is particularly close to the next and each city plays to a different part of my being.
But more times than not, it's just talking to someone from Texas. My dad brings West Texas, my uncles bring big city living, out in the country living, and hippie living. My mom got to Texas as fast as she could, even if she didn't realize what a gift it is when she moved from the beach at 10 years old.
Maybe Texas isn't your home. It can't be everyone's. But it doesn't matter where you're from... if you don't appreciate it, you should. Whether you like it or not, your hometown helped make you who you are.
Everyone has to start somewhere, I'm just lucky to claim Texas.
