Returning to a Place Special to You

Have you ever returned to place and asked yourself “Boy I miss those days” !We all return to a place that holds many memoires, good or bad. For every person, some places hold great importance in their lives. A special place that is really important to me is my home country, Somalia. Somalia, most notably, Kismayo, is my birthplace and a place that I hold dearly in my heart. So many childhood memories of me and my family occurred in kismayo. All of my brothers, including myself, were all born in Kismayo. My mother and father met and married in the same neighborhood we live in. Family is of major significance to me, and living near many uncles, aunts, and cousins was a great experience. Returning to my birthplace was always a dream of mine.
As a child, returning to my birthplace was all I thought about. I left Kismayo at the tender age of 10. A civil war broke out in Somalia in 1991, three years before my birth. The war destroyed and demoralized many families in Somalia. My family was fortunate enough to escape unscathed during this horrible and gruesome civil war. My mom and dad, along with my brothers, relocated to Kenya in exile, hoping one day to return to the place we knew before the civil war. My family returned mid-1994, and find life in kismayo very challenging. My mother gave birth to me during this year. I remember the stories my mother use to tell me about our return to Somalia and the troubles and hardships we faced upon our return. Reminiscing about my childhood, I remember the neighborhood we lived in and the daily activities I took part in. We lived in a small two room house, which at the time was large enough for are family. We lived near many of our relatives and we visited each other every day. Family is a big part of the Somali culture, and living near one another ensured a close bond with one another. Religion is perhaps the biggest value in Somali culture. I remember running up the dusty hills along with my father and brothers to perform