It may seem like an odd thing, but as a college student, have you ever thought about the drive? You know, the however long minute or hour drive it takes to get you from one world to another? That is, from your world at home to your world at college. Two totally separate spheres that sometimes collide in the drive you take to get from one to other. I think about the drive every single time.

Going away to college can be frightening or exciting, depending on your viewpoint. At first I was excited, and that excitement turned into a nightmare. Either way, your viewpoint from the passenger seat in the car during the drive matters. Think about it. Think how you have changed over the course of your college experience, and how those car rides must have changed. First, a nervous, yet excited college freshmen. You probably spent the drive wondering about the friends you would make, the parties you might go to, the things you would do, the person you would become. On the drive, you were simply dreaming. But what about after, did your thoughts change? Obviously, the answer is yes, but how? Good, bad, somewhere in between? Every time you got in the car to leave school, or to leave home, the drive was there with nothing but your thoughts to keep you company.

For myself, I am amazed at how the drive has changed. Two years ago, I was so homesick. Every time I got the chance to go home, I could not contain the excitement that resonated through every fiber of by being. I would dream of the drive, where my mom would talk nonstop and I would be able to breathe knowing I was going back home again. I never looked back, simply looking forward to the world the drive was taking me back to. And then, when the time would come, I would have to go back to school. That drive was a very different one. A drive filled with tears, with anxiety, with constant fear. I know the route there and back like the back of my hand, and every street sign or landmark I saw only brought me closer to my doom. The weirdest part was I never could have the two thoughts of home and school in my head at the same time. It made my brain feel fuzzy, almost as if the drive created this divide between one world and another.

In the present, the drive excites me still, but not like it once did. It is not this everlasting, ray of sunshine it used to be. Now it means the journey to home-cooked meals, my precious dog Liberty, and sleep. Now the drive has changed, but the drive back has changed the most. I do not cry, I do not dread going back, I do not have anxiety. I wonder how my classes will go, when my friends can get together, and play a game in my head about how much sleep (or lack thereof) I will get. The drive isn't the Armageddon it used to be in my head. And that is not only a blessing, but a sign that shows I have survived my hardest struggle.

So my question still remains, how has the drive changed for you?