Not all who goes have a place to return to.
Maybe that is what makes the holidays such a bitter-sweet time. At the end of the semester, trimester, or block plan, everyone is rushing to get off campus. Most of our friends and peers are excited to return home and to be with their family and friends. But sometimes, the home that we return to is not the safest, most comfortable, and stable. Sometimes, what we return to is a mess and we rather avoid it. We rather stay where we are or somewhere, anywhere that is not that.
But we return anyway, because it is home.
It is family.
And, it is normal.
And what is normal for us is not talked about with our peers. It is less troublesome for us to have them assume that our homes are similar than to explain about our differences.
And sometimes, we just rather not explain ourselves and the chaos. Or, we don’t even know where to begin, who to talk about, and where we stand. Everything makes sense but nothing does, and so we return home.
We have grown up with it. We can do it again.