Home: Louisiana, No place like it.

This gazebo may not necessarily represent Louisiana but to me it does. This specific gazebo is located in Mandeville, Louisiana. I actually grew up in Dallas, TX but when my family moved back to Louisiana we moved to Mandeville. The gazebo sits on the center on the lakefront in Mandeville and is open to the public. This gazebo is where we hung out on weekends and after football games. When I was a freshman in high school, the gazebo was the base for a huge game of hide and seek. Now my younger cousins use the gazebo as the base when they play. Also, we took pictures for Homecoming every year in the gazebo, and then junior and senior year we took prom pictures here. On clear nights my grandfather would take us out to the gazebo with his telescope and he would show us the stars and planets. Every year the gazebo is decorated for Christmas and Mardi Gras. Usually it is decorated with white lights for Christmas and there is a Christmas tree in the center of it. For Mardi Gras it is decorated for the local parades to roll down the lake front and is covered in beads. The courts for some of the Mardi Gras parades in Mandeville will take their pictures here. On the fourth of July it is the most crowded place to watch the fireworks show. The town puts on a huge fireworks display from the lake. On summer days I would watch the sail boat races and we would even try to have a picnic (food is not allowed on the lake front in Mandeville). I have seen countless couples get married in this gazebo and I even took my senior pictures here too. The gazebo is a tourist attraction in Mandeville. When I have friends from out of state come visit, I always drive them down the lakefront and stop at the gazebo. It is a great place to show off my home town. Louisiana prides itself on great food, family, and fun. This picture represents all of that to me. I have had a lot of great times here. I had to sneak food to eat it there but it was a blast having midnight picnics so we wouldn’t get in trouble. This represents my family and some of our personal family traditions. Louisiana is a like no place I have ever been. It is hard to find just one image to represent it. I believe by having a more personal picture that a person can find a since of home. When I look at this picture I think of my home, family, and friends all in Mandeville. This image although, generic to some, represents all of the things I believe that Louisiana is. After living in a different state for nearly ten years, and then moving back, I have found a place to call home. This image represents where I come from and how I feel about Louisiana. There is no place like home.