For the last nine months, I have cried more than I thought possible (for the good times and bad), ate my weight in Torchy's and Fried Chicken, danced the night away with friends, laughed until I couldn't breathe, and probably gained some gray hair (college is hard ok). I realized as the semester ended, I didn't know where my home was. Home, in my opinion, is where you are the truest form of yourself. It's the place where you develop as a person. It's somewhere that holds a special place in your heart. It's the place where you feel safe, where you feel secure. Simply put, home is where the heart is. So what if that is two places for you, like it is for me?
I spent my life being raised in Houston, and I decided to travel nine hours to Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas for college. I love Houston, you are close to almost anything and everything you need. The mall is ten minutes away, Gringos Tex-Mex is down the street, and my church is always waiting for me. The other plus about Houston is my family. My parents are here, my siblings (even the ones that have moved "away"), my grandpa, and let's not forget my dogs. I thankfully still have a few very close friends that are always waiting for me no matter the distance. Houston made me who I am. It will always be home because it's where I have made so many memories. It laid down the foundation and built the support beams of who I am as a person, but it left the rest empty for some other place to finish.
Now that I've been home a week, I realize I don't think of it as my only home. Sure, it built me into who I am but it left a lot of open gaps. I spent eighteen years in Houston and it was harder to say bye to Lubbock, after nine months, than it was to say bye to Houston. That's how you know you chose the right college; when it becomes your home. Lubbock has brought out the truest form of who I am. I feel free to be me in Lubbock. I have learned so much about how to be the strongest version of myself while in Lubbock. I have the best friends possible that go through the good and hard times with me. I have the sweetest boyfriend who challenges me into becoming a better person every day. My heart is in Lubbock. Yes, the town that is underestimated in size and beauty holds a very significant part of my heart. Lubbock has become my home.
So I have two homes. A home in Houston, and a home in Lubbock. It's confusing because I never know which to miss, but its a blessing. Having two places that are so important, so necessary in my development as a person, so filled with people who love and care for me, is so rare. I guess I will continue saying "I don't know where my home is" because it means I never have to decide.
