It's All Happening Way Too Fast | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

It's All Happening Way Too Fast

Change is gonna come.

46
It's All Happening Way Too Fast
Stephen Berei

Things are happening way too fast in my life right now. I feel so deprived of an environment where I don't feel uprooted. I seldom feel as if I truly have one place of comfort, a sense of home. I can easily provide a list of places where I feel at home: My parent's house in Northern California, my apartment in Southern California, where I am right now in South Africa, where I used to be in South Africa, my best friends' couch, my car, the road to the 24-hour grocery store in my hometown... The problem is, the minute I feel at home, I am up and on my way to find a new place of comfort.

But that's just life, right? It moves on. College does this to people, time and time again. Everyone who graduated from college can say they survived, right? Let's just say the graduation rate amongst universities worldwide doesn't account for the trauma we [college students] experience whilst traveling among our numerous "homes," okay? It sucks feeling uprooted, over and over again.

up·rootˌəpˈro͞ot,ˌəpˈro͝ot verb | past tense: uprooted; past participle: uprooted 2. move (someone) from their home or a familiar location. "my father traveled constantly and uprooted his family several times"

I'm pretty sure 100% confident that our feelings of anxiety are justifiable. It's okay to feel the way we feel. If you're going through a similar situation as I am, you don't want to leave the place you're in now because you're just starting to make this place your home. The people you meet and the new experiences you're adding to your adventure resumé are increasing in numbers and it makes you so happy and so fulfilled. With each journey, you gain a new friendship or a new memory you wouldn't trade for the world. You're so grateful to be moving about from one place to another, so you can fill your memory box and grow deep in relationships. Even though this is the best feeling in the world, saying goodbye to the people you just started becoming acquainted with and the places you just grew to love is the hardest thing to ask anyone to leave behind.

"Storms make trees take deeper roots." -Dolly Parton

Don't get me wrong, when I'm halfway across the globe, I often remember the couch in the family room in my parents' house with the fireplace going and watching it pour down rain outside and my favorite movie on and a cup of hot chocolate and everything that reminds me of comfort in all the places other than the place I am in right now. It's such an amazing feeling knowing I get to travel and experience freedom, yet I still don't want to leave this place behind; the one I'm in right now, in this very moment. For the love of all things holy why can't I just be in all the places I love all at once? I miss my college friends and being at APU. There's nothing I want more than to be sitting in the library reading my favorite book instead of doing homework or studying for a test. I miss all the little details about the places I love the most. I miss the little things. The coffee runs with friends, the smell of my dad's pillow on my parents' bed, the lines at Disneyland in the fall, the two-egg special with a side of hash browns at Peppertree cafe.

I miss you, home. I miss you when I'm not there. But when I'm not at a place I get to call home, God is working on building His home within me wherever I go. I might feel uncomfortable for a minute, or maybe a little more than that. It's okay, though, it really is. It sucks at first, missing everything and everyone. Through it all, it's so important to remember that God's NUMBER ONE (!!!) priority is providing you with the perfect people and the perfect experiences that you will grow and learn from. He will still work wonders in your life, no matter how much you refuse to trust His plan. The road is narrow my friends, but it leads to so many opportunities and experiences you never would have had if you didn't choose to step out of your comfort zone, even if it was just for a moment.

“A person does not grow from the ground like a vine or a tree, one is not part of a plot of land. Mankind has legs so it can wander.” -Robert Payne

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition

10 ways to prepare for finals week—beginning with getting to the library.

1184
How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again when college students live at the library all week, cramming for tests that they should have started studying for last month. Preparing to spend all day at the library takes much consideration and planning. Use these tips to help get you through the week while spending an excessive amount of time in a building that no one wants to be in.

Keep Reading...Show less
girl roommates
StableDiffusion

Where do we begin when we start talking about our roommates? You practically spend every moment with them, they become your second family and they deal with you at your best and at your absolute worst. They are there to make you laugh just a little harder, cry a little less and make each day a little better. We often forget to thank them for the little things that they do to make college even a tiny bit easier and more fun. This list of 26 things are what you should thank your roommates for right this minute and every day that you live with them.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

20 Thoughts While Studying For Finals

I may or may not be stressing right now.

2041
Thoughts While Studying For Finals
StableDiffusion


That time of the semester has arrived once again, finals. The worst week ever. Who thought it was a good idea for all your classes to have exams all in the same week? Definitely not me. Here's 20 thoughts you may have studying for finals.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Disney magic for New Year!

The "Happiest Place on Earth" has a lot of characters with some pretty great advice.

6884
Disney magic kingdom castle on new years
StableDiffusion

Disney movies are well known and very popular in today's world. Although many people appreciate the plot and the storyline, not many people appreciate the wisdom these characters possess. Every Disney movie has unique advice that can be applied to everyday life. Here are 11 Disney quotes to help start your New Year off right:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

40 Gift Ideas for the Indecisive

It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. But also a time of stressing over the perfect gift.

121098
Christmas gifts around a tree
StableDiffusion

It's officially December. There is less than a month of 2024, and I still feel like yesterday was summer. Now comes the merriest time of the year, the Christmas season.

Everyone has been waiting for this time of year since mid-October (which is way too early, in my opinion) or before. It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. A lot of times when I ask friends and family what they want, I get a lot of "I don't know" or "I don't care."

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments