It's always been home.

I grew up in Medicine Hat, it was all I ever knew, I learned how many steps and turns it took to get to my Elementary school, and knew exactly when we were nearing home from my grandparents' house. I recognized the two intersections and the sound of Dad signaling to turn left, that was a sign to pretend to be asleep in the back seat so I could get carried into the house.

As I got older I would hear about people and their plans to move to Calgary or Edmonton, and I had been to Calgary so I understood the fascination, in fact, I may have had plans to move as soon as I was done high school, but all of a sudden, something changed...

I woke up on a seemingly normal day and suddenly the city I always knew, the city I had grown immune to, became one of the most special places on earth like it's been all along.

Police Point Park looks especially beautiful when the sun is setting and the cliffs look as though they've been painted onto the sky. Driving down the SE Hill during autumn and seeing the saturated orange of trees blanketing the coulee. Going for a walk and strangers that pass me say "Good morning!" and smile at me. Small talk I make in line at the Co-op grocery store seems insignificant but is proof Medicine Hat is the perfect size to be labelled a city but still shares the qualities and kindness of a small town.

I eventually realized the rush to leave home for the big urban cities was no longer within me and the love for Medicine Hat has always been there it's just that I was too busy being a kid to notice.

I defend Medicine Hat when people make fun of its unconventional name because only its residents and hand full of others know why it got blessed with that name. One might not notice on a brief visit, but if they give it the chance, they will notice the different kind of energy Medicine Hat has to offer.