Lynchburg College has been my life for the past three years. Although fate dealt me a good hand and I am graduating early, Lynchburg College will always be my home.
Freshman year, we moved in with a complete stranger and counted the weeks until the next break came. We envied those who could go home every weekend and we couldn't wait to see our friends from home and grab dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Our rooms were full of the reminders that our hometown was indeed our sanctuary.
Sophomore year brought about a newborn confidence in all of us. We were no longer the bottom of the food chain and we could finally navigate our way around campus without being spotted by our red lanyards. We have become one with our valued group of friends and our schedules are consistently filled with Greek events and extracurricular obligations. The weeks fly by and breaks aren't as anticipated as before. As the year comes to a close you realize that you have finally decided what career path you want to pursue and you're shocked but relieved when it's not teaching high school history.
Finally, at least for me, junior year has dawned upon us. We've definitely moved up in the world with our fancy new townhouse and you solidify that your housemates are going to be your forever friends. You lose track of time and you don't go home for spring break since St. Augustine is way more important. You make graduation plans, do adult things like apartment shopping and you ultimately start packing your life into small boxes at the end of the year.
So this is it, you pack up all of your belongings and head "home." But it isn't the same. You love your family and your friends but you're a guest for the summer. Your hometown is familiar but it isn't how you left it. Your room is now used for storage and you can't find anything in the kitchen because it hasn't been the kitchen you've used for the past year. Making plans isn't the same because you don't have your people to make them with. And then it dawns on you -- home isn't where you grew up, but where your heart is.
Home is where you can go on countless T-Bell runs even though you don't like the food but you love the road trip there. Home is where you have your own schedule and routine and your people can read you like an open book. Home is the people you are going to miss terribly after you graduate college and can't wait to visit.
Most importantly, home is where the Hornet is.
I've come to the realization that my home is no longer my hometown... and that's just fine because it I will always be the place and the people that helped shape me into who I am today. My home may even change in the next few years but for now, I am blessed to say that my home is at Lynchburg College.
