Alumni Corner: Homegrown living and learning from it
I was at a music festival when I first heard the song “Homegrown” by the Zac Brown Band.
Ironically, I was 520 miles away from home in Gulf Shores, AL, but the lyrics resonated with me.
“I got everything I need, nothing that I don’t.”
That song got me thinking: Home is not always where I wanted to be. Some hardships, heartaches and just plain wanderlust while growing up confirmed my theory that in order to start my life, find love and see the world, I had to get out of New Ellenton, SC.
And I did. In 2011 I moved 10 miles down the road to Aiken while I attended USC Aiken.
“… Only for a semester, then I’m transferring to somewhere bigger,” is what I told everyone, myself included.
That was my plan, until God started revealing the real plan. Multiple things fell in place, changed my path, and kept me exactly where I was supposed to be – even though I didn’t know it at the time.
Notably, I met my now-husband two weeks into the second semester of my freshman year. Four years later, he proposed the week after I graduated and we got married the following April.
We moved to the place I was running from: New Ellenton.
We have a home, we have careers and we have a dog.
Some may consider this life “settling.” But I feel far from settled – I feel like I’m just getting started.
We’ve traveled to dozens of countries and cities, gone on numerous weekend getaways and a handful of week-long adventures.
The careers we’ve settled into allow us to live the wanderlust lifestyle I’ve always wanted. The best part is that we have a home base to always come back to – a comfortable nest after flying around and seeing the world.
Throughout this journey, I’ve learned that it’s not always about where you are, but who you’re with.
There are so many great things about having most of your support system within a 20-mile radius. There are practical perks (e.g. free boarding for our dog); social benefits (you can’t put a price on a girls’ night); and endless emotional needs met (hello Sunday family dinners, topped with leftovers to-go that will last all week. Enough said.).
What I’m trying to say is this: You can have both. You can come back to your hometown and still have a fulfilling, adventurous life. Not everyone is meant to live the nomadic lifestyle.
There’s something to be said about having roots.
And when my vagabond friends do return for a visit, I welcome them home with open arms, a glass of wine and a listening ear—simultaneously relishing their Big City Dreams and soothing the lingering sense of homesickness.
Home isn’t where I always wanted to be, but I am so glad I’m here now.
