I wanna be where the people are!

I want to be back at Sweet Briar so badly it hurts. I just need to be back there. Everyone is back right now except me; darn my not being involved with sports or international orientation. I simply have to be occupying the same space and breathing the same oxygen as these people; they are my odd little family, a mismatched quilt of patches; the fabrics come in contrasting colors, textures, and sizes, but together, it forms the strongest and most beautiful security blanket, superhero cape, cocoon, and fort material you have ever seen. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore my family and friends at home, and I wouldn't even trade them for a Caribbean vacation with a Jonas Brother; but there's something indescribable about my college family. We came together when we were all lost, scared, and beyond awkward, looking for a place we would fit in. We accepted and embraced each other with all of our strengths, weaknesses, flaws, and oddities when no one else would. Some of us have gone astray, but we always come back. We've lost a few, but we know the separation is anything but permanent; we never let someone slip away. Living arrangements have shifted around, class, work, and sports schedules complicate things, boy drama sometimes gets in the way, and a lot of the times we just want to scream at each other.

But some things never change: almost every Friday night without fail, we'll gather together around a table full of food, the tastiest things we can buy and cook on a college student budget. We'll eat off mismatched plates and cups using a silverware collection that seems to dwindle every week. Stories are told, laughs are shared, and songs are played and sung at ridiculous decibels. Someone volunteers to do dishes, most of the time shoving me away from the sink to do so. We may venture out to the movies or Sheetz or Target/Barnes and Noble afterward, or maybe we'll just pop in a DVD after intense debates and votes. No matter what, we always come together, come rain, shine, snow, ice, or finals. I love these ladies, and that's never going to change.

That being said, I am going to miss home... maybe not a lot at first, but I have a feeling it'll be the little things that get me when I least expect it. Seeing professors with their kids on campus will make me miss my Saturdays with Kaylee. Taco Bar in Prothro will make me miss dates with Amie at Don's. Just about every movie or TV show will make me miss time with Mama. The slightest difference in the way my car runs will make me miss my Daddy. Simple day-to-day chatter will make me miss my aunties and cousins. Computer problems will make me miss my brother. All of these heartaches are unavoidable, but in a way, I'm glad. I never want to forget where I come from, because these people and places have shaped me into who I am.