What's in Houston?

 What's in Houston?

I remember the first time I told someone I was going to Houston over a Thanksgiving break. The first question I got was, "What's in Houston, and why are you going there?".

Well, I have a cute little story about how everything started. Let's talk a bit about my mom; she is a super sweet and kind person with many qualities.

But the one I admire the most is her relationship with her friends. She still maintains the same couple of friends she made back in college.

Those are my "Tias"; this is a term used in Mexico for your mom's girlfriends. Tia means aunt in Spanish, and even if you are not blood-related to them, it feels like you were. They care for you, call you on your birthday, cheer you up, and are there for you in your lows and highs as if they were part of your family. At least, that's how it is for me.

When I was younger, one of my "tias" lived in Houston. My mom and I used to visit her often. I can perfectly replicate the images of those unique and fun trips we used to make. Pictures of my mom cooking dinner for my aunt, of them having wine and talking about the past, and both families spending time together as if they were one. That's when I realized, "This is it": that is the type of friendship I want to maintain. Friends that no matter how close or far you are, every time you see each other is like no time has passed. At some point, friendship will become stronger, we will grow up, and our children will call us "Tia" when the time comes too.

Without realizing it, things turned out pretty much the same for me, and one of my closest friends moved to Houston. Call it fate or destiny, who knows. I crossed paths with a little girl who lived a few blocks from my house. She was a year older than me, and a year feels like a long time when you are a kid. At the time, she was always teaching me things. Things about life, school, you name it. And we became inseparable. Her parents used to travel back and forth around the world, and so did she. But at some point, she ended up settling in Houston, and we replicated the same story of my mom and one of her best friends.

So what's in Houston? Houston is where I feel safe, loved, and, most importantly, where a part of my family is.

As time passed, there was not only that little girl I met back home. I met great friends and, with them, unforgettable moments.

Friends I can call at 3 am in the morning and tell them about my life and how everything is going back in Mexico. Friends who would look at my location ask me, "What are you doing over there?" Friends I know are worth having for a lifetime.

Houston is a place that I can call home.

Waking up on a Sunday morning to get lunch in Fadi’s. Running to the shoe aisle every time we walk into a Ross. Having Thanksgiving dinner with my friends. Voodoo donuts at midnight and lunch breaks to talk about the "chisme" of the week.

Every city has a different story and things to learn and love. But this city for me is more about who and less about what. About who is in it that makes me feel the way I feel every time I make that place my home.