Coming Home

Last year was my first at UVic. As such, every time I did something new, or something I wouldn’t usually do at home, it felt strange. Even everyday things like buying groceries and making sure I had enough shampoo.

I may have done it at home with my mum a thousand times but now, being on my own, they all suddenly seemed like foreign concepts.

As the year went on I got used to doing things things by myself, and actually started to like my weekly grocery shop. Then, in what seemed like no time, it was April and I was back at home.

For the first few days I almost felt more like a guest. There were subtle changes in the way things were done and though nobody else seemed to notice, I did.

For the first time I really felt grown up. I didn’t really live there anymore. It was a strange feeling, but at the same time not an entirely bad one. It means that I had changed, that I wasn’t the same person as when I had left in September. I’d become more independent and confident, and I wasn’t that scared kid who probably looked like a deer caught in headlights on the first night in the cafeteria.

It’s been a year since that first night and now I am settling in to second year. I still obviously miss my family sometimes, but I always know that I can go back anytime, and though I may not live there anymore, it will always be home.