The colorful array of autumn trees rush past me as I travel home for Thanksgiving. I pass by my high school, a rush of nostalgia washing over me. I drive past my town’s old school diner remembering all the post football game chicken fingers and fries I consumed way too late at night. I see my favorite park by my house my brother and I biked to in the summer. I attempt to savor each glimpse of nature’s beauty, each remaining leaf of fall. I realize the season will soon change as quickly as I have in the last three months.

Only after returning to my hometown after three long, emotional, and exhausting months of college have I realized what a transformed individual I am. Spending a few days back in my unchanged suburban town has allowed me to recognize how I have altered as a student, daughter, sister, friend, and individual. My physical surroundings have remained untouched but I am a little bit wiser, a little bit braver, and a little bit different.

Not only are my wardrobe and the bags under my eyes darker, but I am also much more open-minded and focused. In college I find myself connecting with people I never thought I would be friends with, and discovering passions I did not know I had. I am a more adventurous, independent, and confident me.

Over the break my four best friends and I finally reunited at one of our favorite lunch spots and caught up on our crazy lives over burgers and fried red velvet oreos (which I highly recommend). We had been counting down the days until our reunion since August- the last time we were all together before we embarked on our unique journeys. We share our wild stories about parties, boys, and crazy professors. We tell each other about our most challenging classes, our mental breakdowns, the gruesome all nighters, and the moments we missed our dogs and each other the most. We each provide glances into our college lives through saved Snapchat pictures of our most memorable moments. While it is evident we are all transformed individuals, there remains a comforting normalcy among us that reaffirms that I will always have these friends and I will always have home.

It can be easy to be afraid of these alterations within yourself and those you love. But it is important to remember change is a vector for growth- a static life is a boring one. As I continue my college career and gain more life experiences I must stop every now and then to recognize how far I have come and how far I have to go.
I treasure each moment at home- the late night Starbucks runs with my longtime friends, sipping lemon ginger tea with my mom, spoiling my dogs with treats, and singing annoying songs with my brother.

On the drive back to school I stare out the window taking in the scenic views before arriving back in the concrete jungle. Anxious and excited, I wonder how I will have changed and grown when I return back home again.