Bendigo

It is a place of magic, my hometown. It’s like a photo album, filled with all of my memories that made a difference in my life. It all happened here. It is a place of magic, my hometown. It’s like a photo album, filled with all of my memories that made a difference in my life. It all happened here.

Like the time I drove to the edge of town and pulled over on the side of the road to cry because I was in a relationship that was taking everything from me and giving nothing back. I felt as though I was a skeleton and I had nothing more to give. I did not have the energy to even break it off. Until a vehicle drove passed nearly toppling mine over, causing me to look up and see the clouds open up enough to let the sun’s golden raise shine through. No one else stopped to look. No one else was around, except cars passing by and I felt it was all for me. I was meant to be here. And the light would keep shining for me, showing me the way.

Or the time that I took a photo of a drain. Why? Because it reminded me of when I met a man who challenged me to go after my dreams and not let those around me tell me who I was meant to be. It captured the moment in time when I realised I had gone after the things I wanted in life and it was all working out. I had quit the course I was taking at university and was starting the course I had dreamed of. I was set free.

In my hometown, bonfires were all kinds of magic because they represented family time. My Dad, his father, and brother would create the biggest bonfires I could imagine and we would stay up watching them all night. There was one fire, in particular, I remember the most because it captured all of our emotions at the time. With its roaring, spitting, and popping sounds. It looked as if it reached the stars in the sky, and its colours of red, orange, and yellow swirled into one as it tried to reach out as far as it could, but would be sucked back in as its surroundings would not allow it to truly escape. My Dad had suddenly passed away and we were all hurting. This bonfire represented us coming together to try and let each other know we had each other still. And perhaps we could get through this.

Perhaps it is that my best friend and his dog live here too, that I love this place so much? I have always wanted a dog but have either never had the money, space, or the money for space. So, I have pretty much adopted this beautiful dog and I am thankful my friend allows me to pretend he is mine!

My hometown is a place that if you travel to every corner of it, you find the magic I have. The kind that encourages you to appreciate our earth, families, friends, animals, and our wonderfully created selves. It is a place you can stand out in the rain and feel cleansed afterward, a place you can climb up and feel the breeze awaken the creativeness in your soul. A place you can hide away until you have made the hard decisions or a place you can show your best friend because they have not looked around hard enough to see the magic I see. It is a place that has captured my most tragic times, my pains, my innocence, my embarrassments, successes, adventurous side, my happiest moments, and my most appreciated. I am grateful for my hometown.