I’m on my way back to New Hampshire right now.

Yep.  I’m sitting at the airport right this moment, waiting for my flight to arrive to whisk me away from Alabama, almost as soon as I’ve come it seems.

Weird.  The thought of my first semester of college already being over is just mind-boggling.  How could time possibly have gone by so fast?  But honestly, I can’t wait to go home.

What’s this? Homesickness? Well…not necessarily.

This is the longest I’ve been away from home in my life so far, and I realize that what’s pulling me back to that state and little town, which my family calls home and practically no one has ever heard of, is the people, not the place itself.  My sisters, the younger of whom is my best friend, my other family, all of my amazing friends…more than anything I want to see them again, to share all my experiences of my first semester at college and find out everything I’ve missed in their own lives.

It’s always the people.  Home need not be a place, as the saying goes.

I also find part of my excitement comes from looking forward to a change in scenery.  Having a restless heart, I am always looking forward to changing up my place, going somewhere different, not have my life be constant or routine.

But at the same time, being away from home so long has taught me that it’s important to appreciate EVERY place.  Everywhere has something to offer and is unique in its own right, I’d like to believe, and you are never going to be happy if you are always convinced that the grass is greener somewhere else.  You must appreciate where you are at this moment.  Yet another important aspect of travel is that it teaches you this as well as many other lessons.

And for me to disregard a town and state I’ve spent nearly my whole life, which has a lifetime of memories along with it, is something I simply can’t do.  It may not be the most exciting nor my favorite place in the world but like anywhere it is special in its own way, and for me specifically it holds so many great memories and amazing people I have spent most of my life with.

New Hampshire is not somewhere I want to spend forever, nor would it be calling my name if my friends and family weren’t there.  I think the few weeks I’ll be home will be just enough before once again I want to return to the great people I have in Tuscaloosa and the wonderful mix of stress and freedom and crazy awesomeness that is college.

But as of right now, I couldn’t be happier.