I’ve had a busy summer this year. As Dad has mentioned, I spent two weeks in the interior, learning about Archaeology through UAF’s summer program, and then went on several student adventures with Alaska Mountain Guides. All too soon, my summer outings will be coming home from college.
This event looms large in the future, and I anticipate it with equal reluctance and excitement. I love my parents, my cat, and our forest home, and, as quoted in a favorite book (The Wilderness Family: At Home with Africa’s Wildlife, by Kobie Krüger, (paid link) check your local bookstore) “Here remains my heart.” All the same, I had a fantastic time this summer while away from home. I was so busy that I was never truly homesick. I lived in the moment, and enjoyed relating my adventures to my parents (and anyone else who would listen) when I returned.
I am sure college will be similar, even though it will last much longer than my previous excursions from home. I will be learning about things that interest me, and that (hopefully) will help me live in the wider world. I know I’ll love college, and yet…
Home, composed of love, family and sense of place, will be, like the North Star, a constant. As long as I’m absent, my family will be my anchor, and I’ll never end up drifting, directionless. Even though I’ll be far away, for longer than I care to think about, I don’t have to worry. Because I know they’ll be there, when I return.