Back Home

For years of returning home to Berkeley from New York during my university, I've felt my hometown slipping away from me, feeling less and less like home. I would fall into a standstill where my life acquired abroad had no impact on the life I lead back home. I would fall into old lazy habits and spend my time reminiscing instead of progressing. Creativity would slow up and procrastination would rule - which is okay when I'm on vacation but still distanced me from that feeling of home sweet home and introduced the feeling of having nowhere that held the special place in my heart.

As I said before, Istanbul started feeling like a home to me before I left. I felt entirely comfortable there. And yet as I return to Berkeley I feel the same about this place as well, more at home than I've felt here in years. Maybe it's because I was gone for so long, about 8 months longer than I've ever been gone before. But either way, despite being afraid that returning to America would be a let-down, I'm glad to be back.