I live in a house that is not small, but also not big. A house that is a a very pale tan color with deep green shutters and a red front door. A house with a black, newly paved driveway that feels like it stretches out for thousands of miles. A house with a basement that raises the hairs all over your body during the winter season, makes even a little cough echo for miles on end, and has scratched up white wallpaper on all four walls of the room. A house that when you walk up the stairs, who wail in pain with every step, the warm air from the oven hits your face and the aroma of freshly baked banana bread greets you. A house where the the sounds of giggling bounces off the walls, thousands of lego pieces lay scattered across the living room rug, T-Rexs stomp on and wreck mini sports cars as firetrucks and police cars rush to the scene. A house where mom is always cooking traditional foods that make your mouth water and pupils dilate. A house with papers and mail always flooding the kitchen counter as the typical question of the household is asked; “Mom, have you seen my paper?”

I live in house that is well-designed with a nice chestnut colored dining table set, exquisite area rugs, large abstract paintings, big flat screen TVs, and elegant pots with plants that almost look real. A house that is always being cleaned and never misses a Sunday cleaning. A house that is far from the spacious and California-style house that I dream to one day live and raise a family in with an affectionate husband, but as of right now I inhabit a house with a tight-knit family who always try to support one another as best they can. A house that whether we stay in for years or not still contains a close family and many memorable (good and bad) memories. A house that we all grew and learned many lessons in. A house that was once filled with high tensions and freezing cold even as the hot July sun bled through the windows with golden sunlight that could blind with just one glare. A house that once felt uneasy and unwelcoming. A house that overcame the rough times and has become a place that you can’t wait to go back to like a child who can’t wait to return to Chuck E Cheese. A house that will forever and always be a part of my family and I.