Hafizah

Like Danielle, location for me serves as more than just a geographical point on a map. It is a reference point, a place where things begin. I spent my formative years in Akron, OH and moved to Columbia, South Carolina at the age of 15. The Mason-Dixon Line divides more than just regions of America, at some point it veers off, dividing my history and laying claim to my future.

Despite the fact that I came to South at the age of 15, I consider myself a Southerner and I consider that fact an important part of me. The South has branded me. I love the literature of the South, the heavy, wet heat. I love that the smile of the people there has echo and I am pretty sure if you could assign fresh air a taste, it would be something equal sweet tea just brewed from the stove.

Though I love the South, I left and moved to Chicago knowing it would be many, many years before I lived there again. If I ever lived there again. I know it is because of my years in the South that I am able to appreciate Chicago. There's a quote that says, "The South has got a lot wrong with it, but it's like permanent press. It doesn't wash out." The South has its flaws, and it has many of them. It has a sordid history, and at some times a questionable sight on its future, but it begs you to love it still. And you do.