Coming Home from College

      My freshman year of college, I decided that it would be a great idea to branch out from my small native state of Rhode Island and go study down south. I attended High Point University for one semester, and that was it. I hated it. Not because I was far away from home, but because the atmosphere wasn't for me. There was about 3,500 undergraduate students total, and to put it frankly, it seemed like everyone was made of money. I felt out of my element a decided to come home for good after just four short months at HPU. While I was't homesick, I was looking forward to going home and seeing some familiar faces; I could pick up where I had left off.
     However, these once familiar faces started to seem like strangers to me. Had things really changed that much in just four short months? Had I changed, or was it them? My best friends were all of the sudden in different organizations. Some were in sororities and started acting superficial, while others joined sports teams where they really didn't have time for much of anything else. Life had moved on without me, and my friends had moved on too. It became apparent that I was going to have to try and create a whole new life in my own home state; I had to start over.
     The only place where it didn't feel like 'starting over' was at my home with my family. My mom, dad and sisters were still the same as ever. Hannah and Alex were still fighting over the remote at night before bed just like they had before I left. My parents were still working together to raise their children, even though they were divorced and both remarried. It was nice to see that not everything changed when I left. I realized that the same home I couldn't wait to get away from as a senior in high school was the same place I could always come back to for comfort and familiarity. I guess what they say about Rhode Islanders is true; we leave the nest, only to come right back to our stomping grounds.