Love of Home

My experience growing up in Texas is something I believe to be unique, primarily because I grew up in Austin. I think people wonder why people in Texas seem to grow up with such a sense of pride for their state. And sometimes I wonder too. I never really felt like anyone was telling me to have pride for my state. Austin is the "Music Capital of the World" and it's the place where we're taught to "Keep Austin Weird" and where we make fun of Waco for trying to copy us with "Keep Waco Wacky." Austin is the home of the Texas state capitol building... which is 15ft taller than the United States Capitol building. Most notably of course, it is the home of The University of Texas, filled with phrases like "Go Longhorns!" and "We bleed orange!" Everyone's heard the normal Texas phrases of course, like "Everything's bigger in Texas" and everyone knows that Texas is the only state that's ever been a country, and it's also the only state who has it written in its constitution that they can succeed from the union and/or split itself into 4 different states. "Don't mess with Texas" and of course, our famous use of the world "ya'll" ... or "yawl" depending on how "cowboy" the citizen is or thinks he is. But I never really felt like those were the things that made me love Texas... except maybe with the exception of the word "ya'll" because I certainly do love that! Personally, one of my favorite things about Texas is the bluebonnets in spring.

In high school I returned to public school system and learned that all of a sudden we had a new pledge I'd never heard before: The Texas Pledge ... which goes a little something like this:

"Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas. One state under God, one and Indivisible"

I was so confused. I had no idea what people around me were saying or what I was supposed to be saying. And I thought it was utterly ridiculous to be pledging allegiance to a state. Most people now a days are lucky if they even live in one place for more than five years. Most people live in multiple states during their life time and barely think twice about it.  For a long time I refused to say the Texas pledge because I thought it was dumb. But it grows on you I suppose. And I think it was that pledge more than most things in my life that instilled in me a love for Texas. Just hearing it every day. Showing that we do respect our flag and our history and that it is a part of everyone who grows up in Texas. It made me feel like I was a part of something bigger. And I think that everyone should feel that way about something.

But you know what really did it? It was leaving Texas that taught me Texas pride. When I first came to Idaho, I encountered a lot of hate. And that's really what I have to call it. I was getting harassed on a weekly if not daily basis for being a Texan. I had to put up a front for Texas pride in order to shield myself from all the things people were saying to me. It was a survival mechanism. And I just didn't understand it. What gave anyone the right to bash on the place I grew up in? Where my family lived? Where my home was? People focused so much on where you were from. Left and right all around me there were comments like "Iowa, who lives in Iowa?"... and the list went on with North Dakota, Ohio, Nevada etc... and I noticed immediately that no one had any pride for their own state. And I thought that was the weirdest concept. You grow up somewhere... somewhere filled with memories of your family, your friends and your religion. How do you not feel some kind of love for where you're from? I never thought loving Texas would be a problem because I thought everyone loved their home state and everyone would understand my love for Texas because they could relate it to how much they loved Idaho or Montana or Michigan or what have you! And I don't see why they shouldn't love their home state as much as I love Texas! In that respect, I don't think Texas is any different from any other state! And if I raise my children somewhere besides Texas, which I feel I most likely will... I want them to have pride for whatever state they grow up in! With a little Texas pride thrown in for dear old mom!

When I got to Idaho, I wondered why everyone thought all the cowboys came from Texas... because I sure knew a whole lot more people who acted like what people expected "Texans" to act like while I was in Idaho than I ever did in Texas. I came to love Idaho quickly. I loved the cold weather. I loved the spirit I felt there. I loved seeing horses and cows and donkeys and llamas. I loved meeting people who actually went hunting and lived off the land. I loved how clean things were. I loved making memories with roommates and with Michael. I loved deciding with Michael that Idaho was where we wanted to raise our kids. I loved looking out my window and seeing the temple. It was in Idaho that I gained an appreciation for the American flag. I wondered how people from different states could feel so much animosity towards each other when we had all been saluting the American flags our whole lives. Aren't things people have in common supposed to unite them? Why had saluting the American flag not taught us all to be united? It was Idaho that got me through a long two year struggle of waiting for Michael on his mission. It was Idaho that was always inspiring me to be better...

Utah is first and foremost, the place where my parents met. It's the place my family went to for the rare and precious visits to see my Grandma and Grandpa Fish. I have always felt I had deep roots in Utah, even though I never had the chance like my siblings to spend much time there--I've always loved coming back. Utah to me, is the land of the red earth and the snow. Utah is the home of the most beautiful mountains... It's the land of the evergreens I've always loved so much. It's the land where nearly every plant has a smell you can remember it by. It's the land of the plush green wonderful grass I have ALWAYS been jealous of, living in Texas. Because while Texas grass is good for making sounds with between your hands... it'll never compare to the feeling of Utah's grass slipping between your toes. Being in Utah so far has taught me how to better understand and appreciate the grid system, because while it doesn't necessarily keep me from getting lost, it does help when I'm trying to get un-lost. Utah reminds me of home, because I see diversity. I walk down the street and see people of every shape and color and size and fashion sense--members and nonmembers alike. And the thing I love most about being in Utah is knowing that I'm walking down streets of history. When I'm in Utah, I feel closer to the past of the church. I feel like everything really is true, because this is where it all happened. I just know that I have to believe, and that there is a reason why I believe on my Savior.

I love Texas. But I love it because it's my home. I love it because it's where my family is. I love Texas because that is where most of my memories are. I love Texas because it's where I found my love for the Gospel. So if you're from New York or Arizona, Washington or Florida you should love your home state just as much as I love Texas, for those reasons alone, if not more. And I think we should all respect each other for that love and for the reasons that love is founded on.

I believe that every place we ever step foot in is filled with a million reasons for us to love being there. I believe we should respect every reason why people love their homelands and even foreign lands. I believe we should love all people. I believe we should never judge a person for their passions. I believe we should feel more love for America than we do for our own states so that we can actually have that feeling of unity with all our peers no matter where they were born.