A Triumphant Return

By: Alex 

Art by Alex 

One of my favorite things to do is drive down the highway on a Friday afternoon, appreciating Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Homeward Bound’ on my journey south into Pittsburgh. Though I don’t make this commute often, I love it when I do. There’s something magical about the prospect of going home and getting back to a familiar place. But life gets very confusing when I pack a suitcase for a weekend at home. I love school, and I love home, but living in two different places, it becomes so hard to figure out where I belong.

As I’m bothered by these questions on my drive home, an episode of the television show Freaks and Geeks comes to mind. Even if you don’t watch the show, all you need to know is that there is this one episode where a character named Barry returns home from college. As I watched this episode, I felt so much for Barry--- returning home to a family where nothing has changed; it’s so comforting. 

When Barry comes home, his high school, family, and neighbors were all the same; it was him that had changed. Likewise, when I return home to a room that’s stayed the same, walls still crowded with posters of the Beatles and old photography, awards from high school and baby pictures, I realize that I’m the one who’s changed. But it’s not the kind of change that lets you know that you’ve outgrown something; it’s the kind of change that tells you you’re getting somewhere. 

Realizing that I’ve become a bigger person while being away from home gives me such a sense of accomplishment. In a non-pompous way, I have newfound confidence when I talk to people. I want to show them that I’ve learned a lot about myself during my time away from home and have become a better person for it. I know myself better than I ever did, and I think that being on my own is the only way I could have figured that out. 

Even though Barry had such confidence in himself, as he talked about what he hoped to accomplish in the next few years, you knew there was a part of him that truly didn’t quite know his direction. But being at home made any doubts or anxieties seem so small. 

Having a familiar place to return to after you’ve changed so much means that you have time to figure it out; that’s why I love going home. It gives me the stability I need while I carry on with my busy lifestyle away from home. We would all go insane if we didn’t have some stability in life, but we wouldn’t be able to grow if we stuck to a predictable routine.

Returning home is so much more meaningful than living there. Though it gives us comfort, returning home doesn’t always tell us where we belong. It’s hard to live a life in two different spheres, but it’s all part of the journey. Being away from home is hard but good; it gives us space and appreciation. I’m sure Barry would agree.