Recently, I've been offered the chance to go Ghana for spring break. I've been trying to go abroad for as long as I can remember so of course I was excited and honored to be given this opportunity. I'm excited yet extremely nervous it's so overwhelming to go home to a place I've never been, meeting relatives I didn't know I had. We share a common story and DNA but were separated by oceans, and trees, and time. I went to the first meeting for the trip and there was so much to take in. I found myself out of bounds listening to the many differences between my world and theirs. I leave in five weeks and I constantly find myself wondering how things are over there? How they will perceive me? In preparing for this trip and being a senior I've found myself reflecting on the concept of home.
The South raised me and made me the person I am today. Its captured my heart and captivated my mind with its quiet nobility, grace, and simplicity. Whenever I go home I find myself usurped by the smell of fresh air, dogwoods, and an overwhelming sense of peace. I love the mud and the magnolias, sweet tea, and the comfort it provides. Those uncomplicated type of things. I love backwoods, the Eno river, and the sweet smell of tobacco. Its not Paris in June but it's elegant and graceful all the same.
The South is vastly different than DC where everything is complicated, nothing makes sense, but yet it does. It's weird I've come to love and appreciate the complexities and idiosyncrasies of the city. The South gave me grace and peace of my mind (I know it'll never change). D.C. has given me Howard, and a hustler mentality, I never know when the rug is going to be pulled out from under me. The mud in DC is a different type of mud than in the South. The city never sleeps, the sidewalks are unending and uneven, and the streets are unyielding. But there's no place like D.C.
Howard is a completely different home in itself and it's in DC. I hated Howard when I started freshman year but here I am for years later. I'm constantly off balance struggling to get my footing. I constantly feel like I'm rock climbing one false move can send me spiraling back to the bottom. I think I resented Howard because it made me so uncomfortable and still does sometimes. The craziness of Howard is hard to deal with at times but I wouldn't trade my time at Howard for anything in the world. I love being around people who look like me and think like me, have had similar experiences as me, but who are still completely different than myself. Walking on the yard and feeling like I belong is like no other. The world is constantly changing but its fortifying to know Howard will always be HOWARD, a home, strong and true.
Africa is a home for which I've never been but I feel the connection already, it's always been there. Although I hate the circumstances that allowed for it, It's still very special to me to have a home that I didn't know was my home. A home in completely on different continent. I'm excited for the new experiences, memories, and the people I'll meet. In the end I hope Africa embraces me like I've embraced her.
