Quick Glimpse of My Home

So I am kind of a nomad. I don't really have a home. My home in Texas has been packed up and it is just my mom living there. All of my belongings are spread between my sister's house and the house that my dad moved to.

When attending Franciscan, it felt like home. I knew it as I stepped foot on campus for my tour even in high school. When I moved in freshman year, it wasn't the wall decorations or the salt lamp, or the morning smell of coffee that made it feel like home, it was the community. The people at Franciscan have such good family values and treat everyone as if they were family. It is beautiful.

Deciding to take a gap year was hard and uncomfortable -- I had to leave my family. Even over the summers, I longed to be in Steubenville. Not for the smells, or the crazy townies, but for being involved in a loving community. And, maybe, also for this view:

The past weeks and months of waiting have been, what I like to consider "character development." Let me explain what I mean. My friend Jimmy explained this to me:

There are two phases that can reveal different growth -- plot development and character development. Plot development has to do with the events that are giving more experiences and add to the business of life. Character development has to do with the revelations on your identity through periods of quiet and alone time.

So I have been in character development and through prayer, I have come to really come to know my identity to try to improve myself. Although it has been great, it has been quiet. I haven't had much adventure or laughter. I decided, I needed both and that I missed my college friends. So, I decided to swing 5 hours around the neighborhood and visit my friends. No one knew I was coming, so to their surprise, they would be providing a home, coffee, and having to sacrifice school for me hehe :)))

It feels good to come back home. And although I am bombarded with the question "Aren't you supposed to be in Ireland?", it has been a beautiful reminder that so many people are wanting to keep up with my life and pray for me.

So, tomorrow, I have to leave, but I feel so much of my energy has come back! It has been such a blessing to make this trip. Thank God for my friends who I love with my whole heart. I truly have forgotten how weird it gets with them. This is one that isn't too concerning...

Even the Venus Flytrap should not go this Thanksgiving season without pumpkin pie...