Before I went to college, I always wondered what my visits back to home would be like. I imagined these warm embraces with loved ones and an overload of questions about what college is like, and honestly, it has been somewhat similar to that. There's nothing quite like coming back home after going off to another part of the world all on your own and then sharing your stories with the ones you left behind.
For me, coming back to my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana was nothing short of refreshing, and that came as somewhat of a surprise to me because in the years following up to my departure for college, I simply could not wait to leave. Everything about my hometown just seemed boring, and so when it came time for me to finally head off to Tulane, I thought I would leave Shreveport and never look back or miss the place I called home my entire life. I couldn't have been more wrong in my thinking.
While I immediately fell in love with Tulane and New Orleans, I realized that there were certain aspects of my old home life that I missed. In particular, I missed the comfortability. I was taken aback by this seemingly constant reminiscence of Shreveport, and I wondered why I felt this way. I eventually came to the realization that this was a completely normal feeling, and I do not think I would classify my feelings as those of homesickness.
Absence simply makes the heart grow fonder, and being away from the place I grew up in allowed me to think about it in a much more understanding and sentimental perspective. When I came back home for Thanksgiving Break this past week, I was met with open arms by an array of family and friends, and it was one of the greatest feelings. I shared with them some of my stories from school and caught up with what was going on back home and in everyone's lives. To say I enjoyed sleeping in my own room and my own bed would be an understatement! The only way to describe the trip back would be refreshing. More importantly, taking time away from school and from New Orleans for a few days really reinvigorated me to finish out these last few weeks of the semester strong. Much like how I was excited to return home for Thanksgiving Break, I'm excited to return to my new home in New Orleans.