~bartender, a ginger ale for me tonight.
I've found myself in Nightfall City during a layover on my journey back to my hometown, so I figured I'd take a break from typing away in some old office suite on my Motorola Droid Pro and hop into the pub while I'm here.
Throughout my travels today, the nature of what home is has been on my mind. As a college student, studying hundreds of miles away from where I grew up, it's a peculiar split. On the one hand, my hometown is an integral part of my identity, It's where my partner, parents, brother, and dog are. It's the central point where I can see all my friends who scatter to various corners of the country most of the year. It's the place I go back to so I can connect to all of the people that are close to my heart.
But on the other hand, school is where I spend most of the year. It's where I have the agency to live the way I want, where I have my own living space and routines. Comparatively, when I visit my hometown, it almost feels like a business trip, where my schedule isn't entirely mine. Additionally my school (and the state it's in) are starting to show in my identity, and contribute to the mix of experiences that shape who I am as a person.
Ultimately, I suppose many people who leave their childhood home for school have to navigate this split. It just seems like it'd be easier to explore a balance if traveling back and forth didn't involve hours of driving and flying.
~ss