Homes

Timeless.

One of the highlights of my weekend was getting to spend a day down in my second home, Williamsburg.  Even after a year of living somewhere else, this place still has a special draw for me.  Some things have changed (like the amazing new frat houses that they've built!), some things are only slightly different, and some things are timeless.  What I love about being an alumna of the College of William & Mary is that my experience is not unique.  The majority of the the College's alumni, I would argue, have the same deep-seated connection to this place.  When I was an undergraduate, in many ways I felt like the campus and the Williamsburg community were the perfect home for me.  I felt like the place was meant for me.  Going back as an alumna is different - I no longer feel like I belong in the same way.  I'm not a

student anymore, and I don't feel like I could ever be a student there again - it would feel weird.  But as I walk the campus, I get the sense that in some ways I will always belong at William & Mary.  Those four years were a defining aspect of my life, and in personality & mind, I will always be a William & Mary student.  Walking along the Sunken Gardens feels different than it did before (though I can still very distinctly feel what it felt like), but it is still such a peaceful feeling for me.  I walk the campus differently than I did a couple of years ago, but it will never lose it's magic for me.

So all of this has gotten me thinking about the concept of home.  As a child, "home" is where you and your family live.  To the government, you are considered "homeless" if you do not have your own permanent residence (i.e., if you are crashing in a friend's apartment for a month, but they could technically kick you out at any time, you are considered "homeless").  For me, I think I have many homes.  Some are based on the place itself, and some are based on the people there, but all of them have a sense of belonging.  Of course, I have a home in Ashburn where my family lives.  Not only is this concept of home tied to the people that I love that live there, but also to the house that I grew up in.  But Williamsburg also feels like home to me.  I feel like I belong there in a different way than I belong at home in Ashburn.  St. Louis is also beginning to feel like a home.  This one is not tied to the place at all - the city itself has no draw to me.  But it's the people (I have one particularly in mind) that I feel connected to.  Granted, because I've only lived there for a year, my relationships are not as strong as they are with friends from Ashburn or Williamsburg, but over the next 2 years, I can see them becoming so.

It's kind of a weird feeling to have 3 homes.  I mean, I would rather have 3 than have none at all, but it does kind of make one feel pulled in a few different directions.  It also makes it so that I adjust super quickly to being in each place.  Within a day or two, I am back into my mode of operation for that specific environment.  One thing I would like to learn is to meld these M.O.s into one.  Of course I will always react uniquely to each environment, but I would like to see as much overlap of self in each one as possible.

Just some of my thoughts today. :)