Throughout most of your life, especially your early life, you may be rather consistently posed with the anxiety-inducing question of what you want to do. Almost equally important and ubiquitous, I would argue, is the question of where you want to do what you want to do.

As an out-of-state college student (indeed, as an out-of-coast student), this is a question I frequently face. In the midst of making small talk, people love to ask me, “So, are you going to stay in California after you graduate, or come back home?”

For the last three and a half years, my answer to this inquiry, posed over and over again, has never been consistent. I ask myself this question all the time and sometimes I am so sure of my answer, that either I want to stay in L.A. or come back to the east coast, only to change my mind a month or so later.

It could easily be said I am caught between two worlds.

On one hand, I love Los Angeles and have been in love with the city since the moment my plane touched down four years ago for a series of college tours. I love its expansiveness and the cool urban landscape coexisting with its beautiful, varied nature. I love the diversity of its people and the way these people have defied so many stereotypes about the city. I love the creativity abounding within L.A. and the fact so many residents here have so many dreams and so much ambition.

On the other hand, there is an infinite number of things I love and miss about my hometown as well as the east coast more generally. I miss the cobblestone streets and old brick buildings. I miss being so close to my family, both immediate and extended. I love the change of seasons, the crispness of fall and the coziness of winter. I love the way so many people I know from home “keep it real.”

I have been consistently conflicted by this question of where I want to live post-grad (and my internal conflict has only been exacerbated by my crazy, occasionally-contemplated dream of moving to Europe). For most of my college career, the question has been largely hypothetical but, now that I am on the verge of graduation, I know I have to make up my mind, and quick.

This may seem like a burden and, indeed, it often feels like one. However, I have also come to realize just how fortunate I am to be faced with this difficult choice. I essentially have two homes to decide between and that is a very lucky (as well as privileged) position in which to be.

Unfortunately, there are so many people who do not even have one home and so I, and others in similar positions as myself, cannot take for granted we have more than one place where we can lay our heads at night.

Obviously, there are exceptions here and so I do not want to generalize. For instance, I understand children of divorce likely do not enjoy having two homes, understandably. The kind of conflict I am mainly referring to here is when a person, such as myself, has to choose between two great places in which to live.

I still do not know where I will be physically located in six months but I am rather confident wherever I do end up, I will be very fortunate to be there. It is certainly tough having to make the life-altering decision of where to live but just remember how many people do not even have the privilege of making such a decision. Being caught between two physical worlds is, at least for me, easily one of the best places to be.