Get out of your town

 It was around 10:00 in the morning when my little sister and I threw my last possessions into the little black car in the driveway. My parents and brother had already left and were going about their day by then, but I had said goodbye to them earlier that morning. I looked around at the beautiful summer landscape and all the things in my life that would no longer be constant. My eyes glanced back over to my sister as she was tearing up beside the car. I walked back over and gave her a hug. Yes, I was so sad to leave, but I was also excited knowing that I would be able to see my family again in a couple weeks. I hopped in the little black car and started on my way to Dickinson, North Dakota. Just before I was turning out I got a call from my grandpa. He asked if I could come to meet him in a field that he was in so I could say goodbye. I drove out to the field, and he climbed down from his tractor to give me a hug. When I finally got back on the road, I was excited. Excited about the adventures that I would have, the friends I would make, and the new life I was about to start. I had driven the interstate a million times, but it hit me that I would not be going back home the same night. My heart felt heavy, and I started to tear up thinking about all the things I would be missing at home. I felt sick to my stomach. Once I reached the halfway point it hit me that I had only made this drive once by myself and now I would have to do it all the time. I felt like I was going to be sick. After I finally made it to Dickinson, I was supposed to go straight to the dorms and unpack all my belongings. Though I wanted to meet my roommate and get started in my new “home”, I really needed to feel safe. I drove to a friend's house that I went to high school with and asked her if she had any medicine (Pictured above is Haylie and I). She gave me some Tylenol for my head and stomachache and an ice pack for my neck so I could calm down. Then she told me to go lay in her bed and take a little nap. Five hours and some chicken soup later, I had woken up from my nap and was feeling much better knowing that I had someone who would care for me whenever I felt homesick. The next day I went into the dorms and unpacked my things. I was feeling much better and got to meet my roommate and the other girls I would be running cross country with. It began to feel like a place I would enjoy calling my home. Now that I have been here for several months, it truly does feel like a home. Yes, I miss my family and the other people and places that were my home before I went off to college, but finding a home in a new place isn’t horrible. My goal for this post was to share my own story in hopes that it would inspire you, whoever you are, to get out of your town. Go to college, go on a vacation, accept a job somewhere else, whatever you want to do. Find a new home, a new place to give you a different perspective on the world. Then, you'll have more than one home by the time you are gone.