After being away at school for weeks or even months sometimes, it is always nice to have a place to go if you aren't heading out to the beach on spring break: home sweet home. You walk in the door to mom’s big hug, a clean house, and a home-cooked meal. You are able to see some of your old high school friends (the ones that you actually want to make an effort to see). What could be better?
Well, after you get a solid night of catching up on sleep and bumming around the house, the F.O.M.O. sets in. You start to wonder what all your friends and sisters are doing in Panama City or Fort Lauderdale or whatever coastal party zone everyone else is going to be for the week. Are they going to do something super fun tonight without me? What am I missing? I don't know if I can take this ...
That is the funny thing about coming home. You get all excited to relax and do nothing, but after you do that for a day, it becomes boring and you begin to miss your all your friends. Even when I'm home, my second home is wherever they are. Which brings me to another funny observation: what do I consider home now? Is it the place I live for nine months out of the year or the place where I grew up? To me, home has to be both.
I caught myself in a conversation the other day where I said I was on my way home, and the other person questioned me why. I thought, why, what do they mean why? I have to go home at some point. Then, I realized that they thought I meant home as in good ole Saint John, Indiana (ugh, the region ... I know), not the home I've found here on campus. That is when I got to thinking about home. After debating for a few minutes, I settled on the fact that I now have two homes. Two different homes. One is a comfortable laid-back environment and the other is a crazy place with tons of buildings and people everywhere at all times. West Lafayette has become a second home to hundreds of thousands of students throughout the years. Living on campus at Purdue gives students the fun wild constantly on-the-go aspect of life. While an actual home is a place of comfort filled with years of memories. I guess you can consider that the biggest difference. Home is permanent and holds years of your childhood. While school, is your temporary second home that you make unforgettable memories at for four years (possibly more if you are lucky). Regardless, I would consider us students pretty lucky to have found two great places to call home, whether it is at Purdue or back home. Unless you are a townie.
