Home

            For the first 18 years of my life, “home” was a very stagnant concept.  My home had four bedrooms; my home had a burgundy wall; my home was floored with hardwood.  It was a lovely home.  And for the reason that it was lovely, I think that many people live their entire lives believing that they only have one home.

            In fact, when my parents moved states after I went to college, I still believed that home was an entirely singular concept.  I was often asked if I felt that I had lost my home when I packed up and moved to Columbus, and my parents sold those hardwood floors to another family, so that two other children could skate across them in gold-toed dress socks.  My answer was always no.  I always responded that home was where my parents lived.  In a sense this is still true.  During the long week before Thanksgiving, when darkness crept over me long before I left the office, I missed that home.  The metro felt cramped, my twin bed pushed into my ribs, and coffee had temporarily become my mother figure.  But I did not just miss the home that my parents had come to embody. I missed my Columbus home, comprised of my quirky friends, complete with their deadpan deliveries and endless quips.  I missed my Cleveland home, comprised of the solid friends and family that marked my adolescence.  Luckily, over Thanksgiving I got to visit all of these homes, and I also came to realize that the concept of “home” has become transient.

            Crucial to this revelation was the understanding that WAIP has become one of my homes.  Although only for a semester, this city and (more importantly) these people welcomed me at a time when I was feeling lost and helped me find my feet.  And while WAIP, just as my childhood home did, will soon come to an end, I will always remember:

The time Sarina and I laughed the entire walk home, paying no mind to the Capitol or the Supreme Court;

The time Ana and I first walked past the Capitol and reflected on how lucky we were to be here;

The time I realized that Christian maybe knows more about international politics than I do;

The times that Matt was our team’s only hope when the Trivia Guys asked a sports question;  

The time Virginia and I went to happy hour and 100% agreed on all of the food we wanted to order;

The times that Sam reminded me to believe in idealism, even though sometimes it is easier to dismiss it;

The time that Luke and I went to a comedy club, and I realized he was still the funniest person in the room;

The time that Farhad made me truly angry that billionaires exercise so much control over our political system;

And, finally, the time that, over the course of one semester, I found a weird, loud, nerdy family among nine confused college students.

            For that I am forever grateful.