The Winds of Change

      In a way, one of the hardest parts of going to college was coming home and realizing that the world I left behind did not come to a complete standstill and await my return. Obviously, I knew that this would happen, but I guess I didn't realize the effect it would have on me. Although I'm sure people missed we while I was gone, their lives continued to move forward and change in the same way that my life moved forward and changed when I went to college. That's not a bad thing, because of course I don't expect everyone to just sit around and wait for me to come back. It's just strange because I'm suddenly back in the life I was away from for most of nine months, and while most of the big things haven't changed, there are differences that have occurred in both my life here and in myself now that I'm back that I did not expect.
     Now that I'm here for the summer, I have to figure out where I fit in this little world I left for a short time. It's taken me a while, but I've accepted that these feelings aren't so out of line. I went from the life I'd always known to a very different life and then back again. I know that people go off to college and come back all the time, and maybe most of them never had any problems adjusting. But it took me a while to adjust, and I learned something from it. I learned that I am capable of adjusting to new circumstances, of being independent, and of thinking for myself. I also learned that some things that I don't want to change, do so for a good reason that it may take a while to understand.
     Change can sometimes be a scary thing. It causes uncertainty and doubt, but I've learned that it also has a good side. Without change, it would be pretty hard to grow or learn anything, and if nothing ever changed I would miss out on some pretty great parts of life. Because I got through this phase, I now know what it feels like to leave, and to come back, and I know that I can survive it. Because I know this, I can leave for new adventures when they come along, and know that I can always come back, because even though lots of things change, I am now better equipped to handle that change and see the good in it.