Home
August 16, 2025
Writer: Sarah Bowie
Editors: Jacqueline Farnsworth & Ava Malkin
Photo: Pinterest
The summer before freshman year of college, I half-jokingly asked my mom how people ever move out after they graduate. She laughed a bit and responded, “You’ll be ready.” Yet, I simply could not grapple with the idea of not living with my family and leaving the town I grew up in one day.
Home is comforting for me; it is what I know, and it is my anchor amidst the chaos of life. I have my family and friends, played sports, made lifelong memories — it is the place that shaped who I am today. Of course, after an intense academic semester of college, going home to relax is at the forefront of my mind. But, after I finally settled into being away at school, I faced an unexpected new ‘normal.’ I found it increasingly more complex to come home, always needing time to adjust. It wasn’t at all that home was no longer comforting, but I now had new experiences in a new place, with new people. I had adapted and created a new home.
This new home was different. I had now conquered going away to college and developed new interests. At school, my days were packed with academic work and constant socialization that allowed me to build such genuine friendships. That once unimaginable idea of finding comfort elsewhere had become a reality. Upon realizing this, I was quickly hit with a new wave of emotions – a sense of guilt that I had maybe outgrown my hometown. It was a juxtaposition of possessing immense love and gratitude for the town I grew up in, while also developing an outside perspective. I now had something to compare home to.
I eventually realized that while home remains everything I described it to be, it is also the foundation for growth – it builds who you are and prepares you for your new normal, wherever and whenever that may arise. Better yet, your childhood home is all the more special because it’s the environment in which learning, exploration, and growth are constantly facilitated. It’s what nurtures you until you are eventually ready to leave. It was at that realization that I knew what I was experiencing was a natural part of growing up.
Now, as a rising senior in college, I still cherish coming home, but I no longer feel guilt around my change in perspective. While I am not quite at the “moving out” stage yet, the idea that once seemed so intangible is no longer that daunting. Instead of seeing my development as an outgrowth of home, I’ve come to understand that home is my anchor, a strong foundation that has allowed me to evolve. It is why my mom later said to me, “It’s normal to change when you go away to college, and it’s okay to come home and feel weird that you’ve grown, and home is still the same. It will always be here, and that’s why it’s called home.”
