Last weekend I drove home to Kentucky for a whirlwind of events I absolutely must go to, seeing friends and family, and catching up. I was quite busy, but it still managed to be a vacation for me i.e. I got some sleep.
I started off in Bowling Green visiting my college friends. I’ll admit, at the very beginning of the trip, I was very nostalgic. I caught up on all the PJ gossip and goings on in my friends’ lives. The town was just as cute as ever with the trees were bursting with color and a refreshing chill in the air. I visited all my old haunts and started to really miss it. It was all so familiar and seemed so much easier than my life in Atlanta has been going. I just wanted to grab a blanket and coffee and curl up with some English homework under one of the orange trees. I also missed being around people my own age. My friends in Atlanta are awesome, but they’re all at least 10 years older than me with houses, partners, and sometimes kids. It’s great because I can talk to them more and they give me great advice, but the downside is that in contrast to their stable lives, I often feel even more off kilter and juvenile. It was really nice to socialize with people in my position of still figuring it all out.
I was also feeling very jealous during the visit. All my friends have apartments. Even some of the ones younger than me who should be in dorms have their own places. Since starting college it was always my goal to move out of dorms as soon as possible and get one of the quirky old houses surrounding campus. I found them so charming with their 20 layers of paint, weird layout, and large windows that let in the most amazing morning light. My friends were living that dream I once had while I’m in Atlanta still trying to get on my feet. Suddenly my choice to move didn’t seem so great. Or so adult.
But as I spent more time in BG and settled back into it, I remembered why I left. At one point during the day I got bored and couldn’t think of much to do. And then I remembered how small BG is and how limited the opportunities are. In Atlanta I’m always super busy. I went to a party and realized it was exactly the same as a zillion other college parties I had been to. I remembered Stoney’s Pub parties with all my friends and longed for that instead. I realized that while I missed a lot from Bowling Green, it wasn’t meeting my needs like Atlanta did. As I left, my decision to move to Atlanta was not shaken, but solidified.
I finally got home. It was great. I really miss my family and their crazy antics. I miss the family dinners that always turn into a comedic argument of playful accusations and old stories. I miss the conversations with my parents. I miss lounging about the wide open house. I even miss the fridge, filled with familiar foods.
And I miss marching band. Oh, do I miss it. I finally got to see my sister and my old high school marching band perform. It was a super cute and lighthearted show called Radiant Joy. It was so strange that my first time seeing it was fully completed. I’m so used to watching the show build over the months from band camp to state finals. I wish I could see the show more, it’s so hard to take it all in in one viewing, especially since I was watching my sister the whole time. I also got to see my best friend Brittany, who’s on staff for the colorguard. She let me in on the top secret plans for the upcoming winterguard season and I am so excited. It’s going to be an amazing show and I wish I could be there to help.
Some other highlights of the trip were seeing a house Mom might buy, discussing Myers Brigg type personalities with Dad, and going to my godson’s first birthday party. It was a crazy trip and I wish I could have stayed longer, but I am glad to be back in Atlanta.
