Coming back to Virginia is always weird for me. I'm leaving my parents' home and the state I grew up in, and that makes me sad. I'm leaving home. But I feel like I'm coming home, too. I've spent the majority of the last 6 years in Virginia, whether in dorms on campus, in Lynchburg, or in Richmond. It really has started to feel like home here.
There are always things I miss about Massachusetts. I miss the colder, breezier weather. I miss the beautiful fall colors (I'm almost never in MA in the fall, and that's sad because fall is probably my favorite New England season!). I miss hockey- oh how I love hockey! I miss seeing all the Boston teams on TV. Most of all, I have so many good memories of what it was like to grow up there. But things don't stay the same. Now when I go back, it's not to the same house and the same church that I grew up in. I hardly know anyone there anymore. It doesn't feel like home the way it used to.
Meanwhile, Virginia (especially Richmond) is quickly assuming a special place in my heart. There's something I love about living here. Maybe it's the extra sunshine that makes me happier (though I'll complain about the heat all day long!) Maybe it's the central location- I feel like I can go visit any number of places within a two-hour drive- aka Richmond is the opposite of feeling trapped. Of course, one of the reasons I love it here is because I have so many friends who live in Virginia. And I think a big part of it has to do with starting my own life here, away from my parents. I changed here. I grew up. I fell in love with God all over again and realized that it was MY faith that could guide my life.
I didn't always love it here. But the experiences and the people who have changed my life, one way or another in the past 6 years, are all here. I think that's what makes it feel like home.
No comments:
Post a Comment