Walking out of my last final on the last day of the very gloomy first week in December, I couldn't help but feel triumphant that my first fall semester of college was complete. I packed up my new life in this new place to return to my old one. I was anxious to have a month off of school to have some time to regain my sanity. I left all of my worries and stress behind in Orlando, ready to enjoy the holidays and relax.
The absolute best part of coming home was reuniting with my friends from high school. Many of us had chosen different paths at different schools and finding time to come and visit each other was difficult. The endless calls, texts and FaceTimes always ended with the same line "I can't wait to see you over break." Although I had made many new friends in college, some that I even consider best friends, it is not the same as the relationships that I have with my friends from home. These are the people that I grew up with, the ones that know my whole life story.
I pulled into the driveway of my childhood home and unpacked as quickly as possible. After writing non stop in our group chat about each other's ETAs, it was finally time to meet up. Running into each other's houses to the smiling faces of the people that acted as my second parents warmed my heart instantly. I slammed open the bedroom door to all of my friends laughing and talking in the same room. I was home. We sat in that room for hours, updating and sharing all of the details of our lives since we've been apart. We were perfectly content with doing nothing but talking and enjoying just being around each other. I was overjoyed at the fact that I was able to have a month full of these nights and days to just spend with the people that I love most.
The more that things change, the more that they stay the same. I definitely took for granted the fact that I used to live within a 5-minute radius of these people and spent almost every day with them. But one thing that I have learned though is that is the beauty of it all. You're supposed to miss people. Goodbyes may be hard, but they make the hellos so much more gratifying and special. This is the time of our lives where we are supposed to separate from what we know in order to discover new parts of ourselves. It is a part of growing up and it is a part of life.
Although break is almost over and I am ready to be back at school, I can't help but feel lucky for the kinds of people that I hold closest to me. It is very rare that you stay friends with your friends from high school, but if any group of people can break that stereotype it's mine. After spending almost a month back in my hometown, I have realized that It is much more than a house or a place that makes a home. Home is wherever my people are and I feel blessed to have something like that to always come back to.
