But now college is over, and most of my high school best friends are back. So, not only do I have those people here, but also most of my best friends from college. They're either finishing up senior year, working in Baltimore, or working in DC. On top of that, my parents are here, in the home I grew up in, along with a big part of my extended family. That being said, I have a large network of support in the Baltimore/DC area, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised when people don't understand why I would want to live elsewhere.
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| Two of my little cousins that I get see almost every week! So much cuteness. |
The thing is, I never got to leave. I never got to experience that independence, which is weird for me, because in general I am a very independent person. I like to do things on my own just to prove to myself that I can. When I was little, I didn't like my parents to help me with my homework because I wanted to be a big girl and do it by myself. We're talking "draw the shapes" homework a la kindergarten '96. But that's when it started, and I'm still the same way.
Even though I loved my experience at Hopkins, I did always envy my friends who got to experience living in a different city. They got to know a different culture and way of life. Technically, I did too, because Hopkins is definitely its own entity. Hopkins' Baltimore and the Baltimore I grew up in are two different spheres, but the fact remained, my house was 15 minutes away and my high school was 9.
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| Some of my girls from college =) |
I think having my mother as the voice of my subconscious (terrifying, but true) is enough for me to take some time living away from my parents. My mother would be all too happy if I landed a job in DC or Baltimore just in case I "need her." I think that kind of proximity will be an important function of our relationship later in our lives, when either of us are at a point of needing true assistance (when I have kids or perhaps she actually starts to get old), but for now I think it's okay for us to be separate when we're both highly functional haha. Also, New York is a 3.5 hour drive, so really, I'm not aiming to go that far away.
By moving to New York, I would be leaving behind my high school best friends, some of my best friends from college and my family, but I would also have a chance to build on relationship with my friends who already live in New York. I think that is an important part of me making a transition there because I already have friends there to make it a little bit easier.
But still, it's going to be hard. I had lots of "fear of missing out" when I was in AmeriCorps, but I think that was severely amplified by the fact that I was having the worst time of my life haha. Also, most of my best friends from high school are not just that. I've known them since I was 6 years old and we went to school together for the majority of our lives, so we have a closeness that is untouchable. And my dear friends from college, we got really close, really fast. They were there as I transitioned from teenager to adult, so one could say that's pretty important. I'm in no way going to let these relationships go due to any geographical differences.
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| My chicks from 1st grade on. |
In high school I'd see my friends 5 days a week for a least a few hours a day. In college, my friends lived within a 10 block radius. And now things are different all over again. One of my best friends whose room was right below mine in college is now living in Haiti. And such is life, situations and opportunities change, and you've just gotta roll with it. You have to trust that the relationships and bonds you've established with people can survive at any distance. You might not have the same type of relationship you had in college or high school, but if you are true friends, whenever you get together, you'll be able to pick up right where you left off.
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