4.19.21 // back in TN

Spent a moment back in the land of waterless bathtubs, trail runs through thickets, and memories that cling tighter than the brambles on our socks.
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Tennessee is a state of mixed feelings for me.
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Seeing the people I love, so many wonderful humans and souls, but being in a place that I feel so far from.
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I spent my formative years here- high school in Chattanooga and college at Rhodes College in Memphis.
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And yet I couldn’t feel any further from a local anymore.
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Sure, I know some great coffee shops, the best places to swim in the river, and I have a favorite restaurant (@cashewchattanooga, I miss you all the time).
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But my heart feels misplaced whenever I come back like I’ve shifted and shaped into a new figure and I simply can’t get through the door shape that leads to Tennessee.
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And while I would normally grieve this change, it’s like a deep breath, settled, calm, and content. Feeling at ease with my opposition of a place I once loved and still love in a capacity so different than I used to.