Homebound
December 4, 2024
Writer: Liv Bialek
Editor: Zoe Gellert
Not everyone is fortunate enough to have lived in one place their whole life; luckily, I had that privilege. I absorbed everything my childhood home had to offer, and I continue to value all it continues to provide me with. To mitigate the difficulty of change, I seek anchors everywhere I go. I rely on my anchors and continue building them to replicate the comforts of home. Personally, ‘home’ is my childhood blankey, my bed, and the people I surround myself with.
As a college student over 1000 miles from where I grew up, I feel like an imposter returning to the town that raised me—the community where I left my mark.
My local cafe has new regulars, my favorite teachers have new favorite students, and my boss has a new right-hand man. Life is going on without me while I live out my next chapter, but I often catch myself wishing I could freeze the moments that hold so much value in time. My friends, who have remained the same for most of my life, are permanently people I consider home. I’ve had a friend group of four for as long as I can remember, and as our senior year came around, we struggled to grapple with the idea that we would be spending our last Halloween together and the next few birthdays apart. We didn’t realize how unprepared we were for goodbye. We now patiently await the day we can sit around my kitchen table, embracing each other's presence.
I have a newfound appreciation for those around me, and I’ve also realized just how sacred it is to have such a warm relationship with my family. Even our daily FaceTime calls make me smile for the rest of the night.
No matter where I am or where I go, home will always be home, and my people will always be my people. The friends I have made so far at Tulane feel like sisters (they even check the menu to make sure I’ll like something at the restaurant we choose), my roommate is my person, and I feel settled in the new part of my life that I have been anticipating far too long. Im grateful for Tulane for helping me understand that everywhere can be home.