Trips and Homes
I love travelling. There’s something exhilarating about picking up the few things you’ve collected that are important to you, and temporarily moving somewhere else. The uncertainty and unfamiliarity is stressful for some, but I thrive on it. Going home for breaks, travel for jobs, day trips into DC with no plan, no map, and 20 bucks in my pocket: those are the kinds of things I live for.
Right there…see? Sort of a swoop and a cross, Osidius the Emphatic.
Home for breaks. That’s a bit of a misstatement. Where is home when you’re a junior in college? I’ve spent 14 of the last 15 months living in Blacksburg nearly continuously, because of my summer job in the area. Is home here, in Blacksburg? This is my second apartment in a year; I’ve got paintings, posters, drawings, and my photos hung on the walls. I’ve got a stovetop with my apron hung next to it. I know the neighbors, and can navigate my way through the living room in the dark without stubbing any toes or injuring any shins.
Sure, I’ve gotten to know this place well, but does that make it home?
What decides where home is? Friends? Family? Wall decorations and plants to water? For students, would you say home is where you spend the holidays with your family? Is home where you spend the most time sleeping?
I’d say, right now, home is here at Tech. This summer, it’ll be in NoVA (sorry guys, I’ve been away for a year and a half, it’s shorter to pronounce than “Northern Virginia”). Next fall and spring, it’ll be back to Tech, and from there, it’s wherever a post-graduation job takes me.
Where’s your home? What makes it home for you?