The saying (and the book), “You can’t go home again” was one that concerned me as I prepared to move from Washington D.C. back to my home state in April 2011.

I wondered if I would be too different to fit in, or if things and people in Alabama would have changed so much that my home wouldn’t be what I remembered.

I moved to Troy, my college town, in the summer of 2011 and began working at The Messenger in December of the same year.

A year later, you know what I say about that silly saying? “Fooey!”

Less than a month before my anniversary at the paper, I am so pleased and proud to be celebrating Troy University’s Homecoming with students, neighbors and the community.

Things have changed. But the best parts of Troy stayed the same – the people.

The warmth of this community and the acceptance I was given from folks here is exactly what I remember “home” to feel like. And it is what home should feel like.

From my co-workers and readers to business owners and city officials, I couldn’t imagine a better group of people to surround myself with.

The city isn’t perfect, but there are people working hard to make it better. The university isn’t without faults, but the administration is striving to provide a great education and home away from home for thousands of students.

People here care about each other. That’s evidenced every week by some sort of food or clothing collection, or fund-raiser. Community members want to help one another.

That’s not something you find everywhere you go. I was a bit of a nomad before coming back to Troy, so I can say that with full confidence.

I am thrilled to be back, working in the community where I spent my college years. I am ecstatic to be newly-married to a man I met here 14 years ago. And I am grateful, above all, that we are making our home in a place where so many people have an innate desire to be good and do good works.

As we prepare to celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, I’d like to extend a warm, “Thank you,” to the community that welcomed me home with open arms last year. You really can go home, again.