As you are walking in the backyard to get inside, you smell fresh air, leaves, and newly cut grass. You hear a gust of wind and branches blowing. You walk on prickly green grass as you hear kids laughing, springs of a trampoline bounce, and a “smack” as someone serves the volleyball. You touch wood as you walk up the steps of the deck. Then, you open the door to the kitchen.

It all started when I moved here at the age of three. The house in Salem, the place I’ll be living in for as long as I can. A warming place where I always feel safe. A place that I can always go to when I need help. The people inside of it are what helped shape me as a person and made me who I am today. From my caring mom, dad and sister, to the pets I grew up with. This is a place that will always be important to me and somewhere I will never forget.

There are many important events that happened in my house. It’s where I left to start first grade, where I left to start middle school, and where I left to start high school. And there’s always that spot right outside my house where there has to be a picture taken for the first day of school. It’s where I’ve had multiple family parties for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, and Easter. It’s where my mom argued with me saying “ No you can’t have a sleepover tonight, you have to clean for the party tomorrow.” My house is also the place that I’ve had sleepovers and parties with my friends, where we swam, bounced on the trampoline, rode bikes, watched movies, and created lots of memories. It’s where I have hung out with my best friend, Nina a countless amount of times. From elementary school, all the way up to high school.

Also, a big part of my home is my family. The people that I will always love and can always count on. If I had a bad day, got a bad grade or got in a fight with a friend, my family would comfort and care for me. If I was sick, my mom would stay up all night with me, doing everything she could to make me feel better. My dad is the person I can always count on to make me laugh, and the person I can always count on for a hug. My sister is someone that I can talk to about anything.

When we were little, me and my older sister would fight all the time, just like any two girls would. But as we got older, we stopped. She is now someone that I am lucky to call my sister. We laugh together and we cry together. I remember how hard we cried once when my dog ran away, but other times laughing until our stomachs hurt over the silliest things that no one else would understand. We are a lot alike, some people even say we look the same, but we always disagree. There may be a two year difference between us but she is someone that I will never grow apart from. We have the best times together and when I need someone or something I know I can always count on her. I’m glad to have a sister that I can also call a best friend.

When I think of my house, I think of my family, pets and all of the memories that have been created in that one place. I think that I am one of the few people of my friends that still get homesick. It is one of the very few spots that will always be there. It has the people living in it that I care about most and my life wouldn’t be the same without it. It is the place where you can hear “I love you” said multiple times throughout the day. I can’t picture living in a different state, town or house with different characteristics. My house, family and friends are things that have made me who I am today.