Sooner Or Later, We All Return Home

The roads are the same. The buildings haven’t changed. Everything is familiar. It’s comfortable – it’s chillingly comfortable. It’s crazy that you remember every back road and short cut without even thinking about it. There is a paralyzing feeling of contentment and complacency; there is an overwhelming feeling of love and excitement surrounding you.

No matter how long it has been since you’ve moved away sooner or later you will return “home.” There’s a whirlwind of emotions that are involved with going back to your hometown. At first you’re going to be excited and anxious to see your friends, family and pets for the first time since moving away. They will want to hear every detail of your new life, and you’ll be just as eager to share. You’ll want to hit all of your old hangouts and make it “just like old times.” You’ll see people you recognize almost everywhere you go. You remember how to get everywhere and won’t have the slightest need to use your GPS. It will feel the same as right before you left. It will feel great for a minute but then it will all feel too familiar.

However, with that familiarity comes this feeling of hollowness. Everything is just as you left it. Nothing has changed. It suddenly doesn’t feel as if you left at all and that is frightening. You’ll be thinking, “what if the whole move was just a dream” and for a second you will wonder if you made the right decision. For a second you’ll think about being back in your comfort zone with your family and friends and how easy it would be to return. You’ll think about all the things you could do at “home” and how to make things different. But then, after a minute has passed you’ll remember every reason you left. You’ll be reminded that although everyone you love may be there – there is nothing else keeping you around. The opportunities for growth are not plentiful, there’s a lack of challenge. You’ll be reminded of all the prospects in your new home – all the new places to go and things to do. And in that moment you’ll breathe a sigh of relief knowing you did it. You picked yourself up and moved somewhere new.

Going back home after moving can be beautifully nostalgic and terrifying at the same time. It can either make you wish you never left or reaffirm that you made the right decision to pick up and start over. It can be just what you need to reboot and recollect yourself. It will give you more drive and determination when you go back to your new life in your new surroundings.