by Maren Campbell
Age 11

What makes the northeast feel like home is really the diversity and the community. When me and my family moved here three years ago, this place felt so different. Now I go to Garfield Elementary and my six best friends, 1 from South Korea, 2 from Iraq, 2 from the United States, and 1 Sudan, were there to make me feel welcome and at home in the beginning. Now with my friends and I together 1 year later, this place doesn’t feel so different anymore. This place feels like home. Everyone comes from all different cultures and places, like my friends. Whether I go to cliff drive or Eleos Coffee Shop, this place has no other name but HOME to me. I see diversity and community in those and most places. Community and diversity are some of the best qualities the northeast has to offer. Everyone has a culture and background. Some are better than others, but in the northeast, the background doesn’t matter. We are all at home and are people here. We are all really the same and here we might look different or have different cultures, but we can be who we are and we won’t be judged. We help each other find home in the northeast and I think home is the best gift anyone could have. Home is not just a house. Home can be community. I hope that the northeast community has made you feel at home.