Office DJ: A love letter to my hometown

For so long, I wanted to leave home.

More than anything, I wanted to get out of rural North Carolina, leave behind a high school experience that made me small and achieve all my dreams. I thought my hometown was holding me back.

Now, I’d do anything to stay there a little longer.

I’m only a semester away from graduating and starting real life. I may never sleep another night in the light gray room that gets a little too bright in the mornings. Or spend my weekends rotting away in our Red Sox-themed basement, watching sports on multiple TVs simultaneously with my parents. Or drive past my elementary, middle and high school every time I go visit my friends.

I am lucky enough to call two places home — Hickory, where my physical address is, and Alexander County, where my friends live and where I spent my entire K-12 career.

I’m unlucky in that I’m losing both at the same time.

I don’t want to be an angsty teenager anymore, but I’m not ready to say goodbye to the places, people and experiences that raised me. Maybe I’m romanticizing things, but recently, I’ve been listening to the music that teleports me back to those moments in time.

Blasting One Direction’s “C’mon, C’mon” with Sophia, Heather and Elizabeth on a thirty minute drive, just for the chance to eat Scotty’s chicken tenders and drink the best sweet tea in town.

Singing along on a white, aging activity bus with my tennis teammates to the High School Musical soundtrack before matches. “Bet On It” had a way of fueling us. I always brought the speaker.

Screaming “All Too Well” with the windows down so loud on the curvy back roads of Highway 127 that my lungs threaten to give out. The wind whips my hair into my face, but for once, I don’t obsess over fixing it.

Memorizing all of the songs on the "Rock of Ages" soundtrack because it’s my mom’s favorite movie. She loves 80s music. I love Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise).

Listening to Taylor Swift’s “Never Grow Up” on quieter rides. My voice always catches at the end.

Taking the long way home with my dad, the nostalgic melodies of Kenny Chesney’s “I Go Back” or “Old Blue Chair” warming my skin like a comforting hug. I think about playing “There Goes My Life” for the father-daughter dance at my future wedding, years down the road. My eyes get misty.

As a love letter to my home and all of the people in it, here’s a playlist of songs that remind me of rural backroads and the people in my life whom I adore. I’ll find a new home somewhere else. Just as I always have.

But I’m not in any rush to leave this one. Not anymore.

@carolinewills03

@dthopinion | opinion@dailytarheel.com