They say I’ve moved on to bigger and better things, now. And I have, I won’t deny it. But that doesn’t make leaving home after break any easier.
I love Oxford, I really do. I love my classes, my professors, my friends… there’s so much about it that’s unique and unexpected. But visiting home and seeing my old high school, and all the people who made that part of my life special, like I did this week, brings back a wave of fond memories that I’m struggling to shake.
A lot of my peers at Oxford look back at their past educational experiences and have nothing positive to say. While I did go through a period of my life during which my desire to move on to college was like an itch I couldn’t scratch, when I look back now, I really do miss it sometimes. Not the tests or the essays or the homework, but the people.
This week, I spent a day visiting my old teachers, mentors, and peers, and went to a few events that were essentially the places I flourished as a leader not even a year ago. And despite having been away almost seven months, I was welcomed back with open arms. It was nice. Comfortable, even. It was a look at my past, where I was someone. I was introduced to members of the new freshman class as “the one who started the one-act play program”, or by similar legacies I left behind. And those younger students peppered me with questions about college and theatre and my experiences there.
As my friends take their turn graduating to the next stage of their lives, I know that my legacy will slowly be forgotten. That I will feel less and less like a part of me still belongs to my community at home. While that saddens me, I know that I will find communities at Oxford that I look back at just as fondly. And hopefully, one day, I’ll be remembered for doing something amazing in Oxford’s niche drama program, too.