As long as I can remember, I dreamed of being somewhere else. Someplace more suited to me, like a house on a lake or a city in some other state. When I was in high school, I could not wait to move away for college. When I was young and still living with my parents, I would take anything to speed up the process of leaving home, but did not realize all that I was saying goodbye to. All the things I took for granted about home is what I missed the most.

I grew up in a suburb west of Chicago, where I got a headache whenever I had to drive somewhere, and I felt lost in the crowd. I decided to go to school in a medium-sized town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A town small enough for everyone to know who you are, but most of the land untouched by developers. I love that I can go hiking whenever I want and that it takes such a short amount of time to get anywhere in town. I have lived here for three years now and am used to the homesick feeling. I miss all the delicious Chicago food and being close to family, as well as there being more opportunities to meet new people and explore new places, take part in different activities.

I remember my oldest sister saying something of the sort to me, years back: “When you are home you want to be at college, and when you are at college, you want to be home.” I created a life for myself in another place, but my family and old friends are still in Chicago. It is hard to communicate with people through technology when I was so used to seeing them all the time. We fall into routines and new schedules that less and less time is made for talking to people back home. Most people understand, but it is still hard sometimes. I often feel nostalgic for my childhood and Chicago life. But when home for long summer and winter breaks, I miss the Upper Peninsula and the life I have up here.

Now that I only have a year left of college, I dream of where I will go next. I could go back to Chicago, but I am not ready to yet. There are more places for me to experience first; my perspective still meant to be broadened. I am not meant to be in one spot for too long. I will always feel the need to get out of town every once in awhile. Everyone needs a change in scenery from time to time, even if only for short amounts of time.

Although I miss certain places and it always feels good to return to them, I learned it does not matter where I am, it matters who I am with. The truest home, when the place does not matter, is when you are with loved ones. Home is when we are surrounded by souls who care. We associate people with places, and that can be what draws us back to those places.

My dream is to travel the world and experience new things. I cannot let myself be bound to one place for too long. We have to live our own lives and let life take us where we need to go, so we cannot worry about leaving people or places behind. I don’t really know where home is anymore. To me, it is anywhere with loved ones. People give a place a purpose, a reason to return. We have fond memories of certain places because of who was by our side during it. Those who are meant to be in our lives will stay there. The places we love are always there to return to, even though things about it may change.