Where is your home!

I can tell you that for years I couldn't tell you where my home was. For years I lived in different states being moved around by the military. Which I will always cherish that opportunity. For years I lived in Florida on and off and thought maybe this is my home but never quite felt complete. Recently, I took a trip back to the state I grew up in, which is New York, Long Island. I felt something that I haven't ever felt and that is a sense of love. I’ve gone back to New York plenty of times and never felt this way. I always felt like New York was so dirty and how could I have ever lived like this. But really why is it dirty and why did I think it was so important.

I’ve always felt that way because I looked at the picture but never the story. Yes, New York City and Long Island are very dirty in areas but then very beautiful in areas. The people in New York are even more beautiful. Everyone thinks New Yorker's are terrible, I've heard this more than once. Ether, I hear New Yorker's are too hard headed or don't have manners, or simply rude. When in reality this is far from the truth. New Yorker's are the most caring individuals I know. They are far from rude, they simply tell you how it is and do not sugar coat things because in New York you won't be able to survive if you lived on your tippy toes every day. New York is one of the hardest places to live, between the different ethnicities and the expenses just to be able to live is very difficult. This is why people who grew up there are always called a “New Yorker”, we live life in a completely different way then maybe people who live life the southern way. That being said, I never knew the difference or understood it until recently.

I’m now a Floridian and have lived here happily the past 7 years with my little family, including; my Floridian husband and now two Floridian children. My husband is born and raised in Florida but has family in Michigan and lived there every summer as a child. My husband and just a hand full of others are the only Floridians that I love truly. People in New York are grown to love each other and create bonds between each other, no matter if it is family or friends. This is the way we needed to be in order to be able to survive. New Yorker's depend on each other every day. Most Floridians and people from other southern states don't even talk to their family or have any childhood friends. The bond between New Yorker's is so real that no one can deny. There is no bond between most Floridians. Even my husband states that and he is a true Floridian. The entire world needs to have bonded like New Yorker's if we all lived life like that there would be a lot less tragedy.

I will always be a New Yorker at heart and will continue to raise my children the way I was raised. Because that is the right way to be raised. You can’t break a New Yorker and a true New Yorker will always be the hardest working individual you will ever meet. Anytime I’ve ever had to higher an individual and they happened to be a New Yorker, I quickly highered them. The chances of them not working out were much smaller than the chances of someone else from a different state working out. Not stating all New Yorker's are great but there is a large portion of them that is. 9/11 was the perfect proof of how strong the beautiful city really is. Everyone jumped in to help save each other and everyone was there to support each other. And the city never died, today it's stronger than it's ever been. So don’t question why New Yorker's are the way they are, instead try to be their friend. They will be the best person to stand by your side. I will always be a New Yorker.