Travel
Most of my traveling in the past few years has been school-related, and only a few trips have been planned with my family.
For the past eight years or so, however, I have traveled to Crossville, Tenn. every summer. Crossville is a small town about an hour west of
Knoxville, located on the
Cumberland Mountain Plateau.
Almost all of my mom's side of the family hails from this small Tennessee town, and we go to a reunion every year. I cannot even begin to name all of my cousins--whatever the relation.
My maternal grandmother is the oldest of 13 children, and my maternal grandfather was the oldest of eight children. Each of their brothers and
sisters had two or more children, and so the family tree continues.
My mom is the youngest of four children, so I'm almost guaranteed
to meet someone I don't know at the reunion every summer.
I love traveling to Tennessee every summer. Tennessee is the only state other than Florida that I can see myself living in after I graduate. Although Crossville is a really small town, its familiarity and Southernness make it my "home away from home."
I spent a lot of my summers during middle and high school hanging out with the youth group at Linary Church of Christ in Crossville. I made some lasting friendships there, and I still keep in touch with some of my Tennessee friends even today.