Returning to the New

Next week, school starts. I'm going back to college. Chemical engineering 'bout to get lit up in here. Woot.

Personally, I'm excited. I get to take physics 2, organic chemistry, statics, dynamics, health and the body, and stagecraft. It's gonna be a busy semester, a hard semester. A good semester.

In many ways, I'm going back to a second home. There are people there who I care about very deeply, and I can't wait to see them again. In fact, I can't wait for any of it. The math, the engineering, the writing, the theatre, the design, the campus itself, the people. Things will be amazing.

It's a return. I'm returning to things I know.
At the same time, it's all going to be new. A new year, new freshmen, new theatre productions, new classes, new subjects, new adventures.

It's a little intimidating.
But...


It's also good.


Today, I'd like to talk about a little about that idea: returning to new things.

The Importance of Going Home

Everyone needs a home. Home is a sense of belonging and purpose. At home, you mean something. Whether you something to someone or to some ideal, you have purpose. Without you, something's not right.

Adventures are good. Leaving home is important. Without those things, you won't grow as a person to be full and colorful and passionate. However, if you never come home, you don't have roots. You won't have a place to take that colorful passion and mature it into your art. Coming home gives you a chance to breathe, to evaluate the changes in yourself and keep those which benefit you and those around you.

Home is valuable. Having a home (or multiple homes) fills you up for the next adventure. I'm fortunate enough to have three or four places/groups I would call "home". That's so valuable to me. I need those places. I hope you have those places, too. How many can vary, but I hope you have at least one. 

Home is a wonderful place. Returning to it is wonderful.

But so is going out.

Striking Out into the New

Staying home is great, sure. Being able to be in a place where you are wanted, needed, and loved is precious. Nothing can compare to it, and nothing can replace it. 

Staying home forever is... well, not so good. New experiences feed our souls with passion. Adventures and lessons and forays out of our comfort zones push us forward in maturity. There is great power in stepping out of the known into the unknown and facing it head on. 

When you leave home, you gain. When you return home, you prepare yourself for the next great adventure.

For me, I'm about to do both at the same time. It's an exhilarating thought. I get to go home, and I get to go on an adventure. 

What about you? Where is your home? Where are you going on an adventure next? What do you hope to gain? I'd love to hear about it.

NOTE: there will be no post next week, as I transition into a new schedule at college. I'll be picking up two weeks after. See you then!