Briefly relocate

I am currently at junior in college at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Yes, these may very well be "the best years of my life," but that doesn't mean everything goes on without a hitch. Balancing the academics and social life offered at Lehigh is both a privilege and a feat. This, in addition to work, financial concerns, personal issues, internship applications, missing everyone studying abroad, thinking about the rapidly approaching future, etc., can definitely stress a girl out. My quick fix at school is usually something like a good work out or a long nap. 

With the vast majority of my close friends studying in Europe this spring, I correctly predicted that I would need a bigger pick-me-up than usual at this point in the semester. This is where I took the extreme measure of booking a flight home to Chicago, Ill. for a Thursday-Sunday weekend, and I couldn't be happier with my decision.

I am writing this from my bed in Chicago, and I don't know where to begin with my explanation of how my family, my neighborhood, my home, my childhood friends were the perfect stress relievers. Although I live in Bethlehem about nine months out of the year, my home is still my home. 

This type of stress relief might not be found in everyone's house or hometown. Maybe you just need a location away from whatever you're wrapped up in to think about yourself in the big picture from a different perspective. This is a place that offers a sense of comfort and belonging like no other place can, even if you don't know the other people in this place. I'm reminded of how I've changed, how I've stayed the same, the reasons I've become who I am, my monumental mistakes and achievements, and I can go on forever about what my home represents. Thinking space can be found anywhere you're comfortable, and I highly, highly recommend using it.

This is hard to do when you let things build up or fall into a stressful routine. And, sure, I'm not happy about the cost of the flights between Bethlehem and Chicago, but I just felt an impulsive need (very unlike me) to go home, so I did. The opportunity to step out of what has become my norm and think about things from a comfortable place was well worth the money. I will get on my flight tomorrow morning excited to get back to Lehigh with a solid sense of self, organized thoughts and a refreshed motivation. Thank you, home, for clearing my mind and curing my stress!