Home. To some it may be a person or a feeling, but to me home is a gym. Within those four walls I experience joy, heartache, victories, and failures. The Peter Stott Center, located in the the Portland State University park blocks. To some they would see it as a bomb shelter, or jail, with its concrete outer walls. For me it is home and comfort, a place to call my own in the makeup of this huge campus. With green seats a white walls, hardwood floors that shine even in the dark. When the balls bounce it as if they are trying to whisper their secrets to.

Before I realized that this would be my home in Portland I did not appreciate all it had to offer. I did not understand that the intimate seating in the gym would help me sink the game winning three while facing number one Eastern Washington University. When you are in the heat of the game my eyes lock in on what is taking place on the court and everything around me just fades away. It is just me and the game of basketball. As many experience you can also hate your home. When we are on the baseline running, I just want to run out of the gym, far away from all of the pain. It can really be a love-hate relationship sometimes. One thing I always know about my court is that it will always be there for me. No matter what time of day my court will be open and willings to give me comfort and even guidance.

I feel a sense of pride when I get to run out on that court, my home, with Portland State written across my chest. To know that I get to represent such a wonderful place is an awesome feeling. The Peter Stott Center will always hold a special place in my heart, no matter how far or how close, that gym, is my home.