There are a lot of people and things that are important to me. Parts of me that have only been crafted because of these things, and yet they are so much a part of me that if you asked me to list them I don't know that I could.
I've decided to take the "people who are important to me" prompt loosely. The two people of importance are not people at all, but rather places. They are places, however, the I personify on the regular.
First, St. Paul. She is sweet and constant and full of firsts. The other, is Green Bay. She is hazy and warm like a summer sunset. She is the house that built me.
I'm Nicole and I'm forever a midwestern girl.
I was born in a sleepy Wisconsin city. A city whose streets raised me with endless hours of no handed bike rides. Whose well manicured backyards served as a breeding ground for creativity, skinned knees and grass stains. I was a rough and tumble tomboy tempered with the love of the way the stars sparkled and the big snow flakes landed on my eye lashes. I played barbies in my pink room with dirt under my chewed nails and my softball uniform on. Green Bay encouraged me to be exactly who I was, and I loved her for it.
She also open doors into the future, and after 18 years she released me into the wild knowing that I'd come back home any chance I got. She knew, even before I did, that before I could appreciate how special she was (is) I had to leave her, first.
That's when I met St. Paul. Charming neighborhoods, poetic sidewalks and cathedral bells welcomed me like an old friend I had only just met. Though everything felt new and strange, it felt incredible normal and comfortable at the same time.
It's in a tiny Summit Hill apartment with crooked, creaky wood floors in the heart of St. Paul that I met Jesus in a new way. It's here were I decided that I wanted to live a life that looked more like Jesus. Saying "yes" to this life, in this place, with a community of people I never knew couldn't live without is was sweet St. Paul has given me.
She is the most charming in the fall, when the leaves are falling and her history is on display. She she may not be as hip as her twin sister, but she is an absolute delight. She has seen me through some of my best transitions and some of my biggest heart breaks. She saw me through the majority of my 20's. And, spoiler alert, you're 20's are fun and wild and hard. Buckle up, you're in for a treat.
Green Bay is my forever home. The place I run to when life feels impossible, and God feels far away. St. Paul reminds me of the infinity possibilities of new days, and endless amounts of grace.
Green Bay reminds that I'm loved, and St. Paul reminds me that I'm forgiven.
