My grandmother always told me growing up, "The best part of a trip is coming home." My grandfather always told me growing up, "Get out and experience as much of the world as you can." Ever since I was kid I've fought this internal battle of wanting to stay at home, but also having a deep desire to get out and explore the world. I am two sides of the same coin. On the one hand I was raised by grandparents who one has stayed, born and raised in the same place her whole life, and is perfectly content with that. The other sacrificed a football scholarship to Florida State to stay with the woman he loved, but since that sacrifice he has tried to travel and get out as much as he can.
As I said earlier I've struggled with this since I was a kid. I would always dream of running away and starting a new life often like the characters in the stories I would read, but realized how crushing that would be to the ones I love so I settled for being an imaginative kid in my backyard. I would see these amazing places in these books my parents kept around the house and I remember distinctly having a book of ancient ruins at the age of seven and being obsessed with Machu Picchu. Why? Because it was this giant mystery and it was unlike anything I had ever seen. To say the least, I was bit by the travel bug early. When we went to visit my family over on the other side of Pennsylvania it always felt like such an adventure, because I didn't know anyone and I was in a new place that I got to explore. As I got older I knew I wanted to get out of the bubble. My first trip on my own was to Bayou La Batre and New Orleans to help with Hurricane Katrina relief. This also involved being on a plane for the first time and I was endlessly fascinated by the feeling of being in the air, not needing to be in control, and just floating among the clouds. I was amazed and charmed by the southern lifestyle, the food, the beautiful beaches, the relaxed atmosphere. I was in love from that moment on with traveling. As the years went on I traveled as much as I could whether it was for volunteer work, leisure, or something for school.
However, when when senior year came knocking this was my chance to get out and go out of state for college. Believe me with the offers from all over the country I had being sent to my house, I deeply considered it. That was where I hit a snag. I had enjoyed traveling so much because it had only been for a week or two at a time. I was always coming home after the trip, but if I went out of state for college I wouldn't have that luxury anymore. It would be months before I saw my family and friends again. What would happen if I was across the country, there was an emergency, and they couldn't get to me or I couldn't get to them? Could I live with interactions through skype, phone, or email for months at a time? What would I be missing while I was gone? I wasn't ready for those sacrifices yet so I decided to settle for a happy medium. I went to a college that was far enough away, but I could get home when I needed to. This shocked my entire family, because they honestly thought I would be the one to leave the state for college but I wasn't quite ready to pull the trigger. While at college I continued to take any opportunity I could to get away. Whether that was in the country or out of it. However, as the end of college loomed closer and closer I finally decided it was time to pull the trigger. I moved away to a different state, new city, and had a new adventure in front of me.
With this new adventure and this battle of wills you experience this in a different way than most people will. On the one hand you love getting to eat new foods, meet new people, and be apart of this totally new culture that is probably highly different from where you grew up. On the other hand, you miss the comforts of home, creating new memories with your friends, and being immersed in a city you know like the back of your hand. You start to miss being around people who cheer for the same sports teams as you, have the same weird eating habits, and talk like you do. You also revel in the rivalry it brings at sports bars, justifying your eating habits, and learning new languages. You miss the seasonal changes, the variety in your wardrobe, and being able to not have to use a GPS everywhere you go. But, you also like the fact that you can wear flip flops year round, the need to not have to wear six layers of clothing to stay warm, and getting to explore those back roads while getting lost at the same time. You love this new experience, but you still miss the comforts that home provides. I realized I'm the best of both sides. I love being at home, but I also love leaving it on occasion.
