If you would have asked me in August about where I call home, without hesitation, I would have told you the name of the town I grew up in (or at least the name of the closest major city). Now, after eight months of living halfway across the country, where I'm from and where I consider home to be are no longer synonymous.
Of course, home is where your family is. I'm so excited to get to go back and spend time with my family, but I also have a whole separate college family now. I have my close friends, the people I dance with, and my sorority sisters who I can lean on and make memories with.
They have become just as much of family members as my mom, dad, sister, and cousins, and absolutely none of them live near me. Leaving them for the summer is going to be just as hard as it was to say goodbye to my family when I left for school.
I read a quote from Shakespeare once that said, "people usually are the happiest at home" and I'm truly happiest when I'm at school. As cliché as it may be, I love getting to be independent. Being able to make my own decisions, have my own space, and be responsible for myself never stresses me out; it makes me happy.
Not to mention, at school, I've been able to find myself and find things I'm passionate about. In high school, everyone had a label. Everything class I took and every club I joined ended up putting me in a box made of expectations. While I had a choice in what I did, I didn't really have a choice.
When I moved to Syracuse, I knew practically no one. No one had expectations of me when I got here, so I have been able to redefine myself and become the person I've always wanted to be. Because of that, I'm happier now than I ever could have been and coming to Syracuse has been what has allowed me to find my happiness.
It became evident to me that "home" was no longer home over holiday breaks. I kept getting homesick for school. I'm scared to go back for three months because, at this point, that place is unfamiliar to me. I don't know how to readjust to seeing Six Flags touring over me instead of the Hall of Languages.
I don't know how to readjust to working in a restaurant instead of working every on homework for the classes I have found so much interest in. And I most certainly don't know how to readjust to people having expectations of me again. Every time I have gone back this year, I count down the days until I get to come back to the school I love so much. I'm scared to have to count for 104 days of summer vacation.
The positive side of it is, is I am incredibly lucky to have found a home within my school. I know not everyone feels that same way. I am so excited for three more years here because without a doubt, there's no place like Syracuse.
