I remember when I was applying to Oberlin and the Bonner Scholars I was asked to right an essay about how Oberlin could be my home away from home. And for a while it's been just that. When I'm back in Cincinnati I find myself calling Oberlin "home". My dorm becomes my room, Stevenson becomes the kitchen and dining room and my friends become my family.
But as I prepared to come back after Winter Term it didn't seem much like home. Maybe after a year and a half the excitement of college life has begin to taper off, and the bone chilling numbness of an Oberlin Winter has yet to wear off. Going back to Cincinnati allowed me to recharge my social batteries and envelop myself within a cocoon of introspection. Now that I'm back those batteries will immediately begin to lose power as I'm thrust back into a place where every hour is full of draining interactions and stressful situations.
I'm changing though. Just as a catipillar comes out of its cocoon a beautiful butterfly, so shall I. I chose to come to Oberlin because I knew it was the place for me. It was where I needed to go in order to grow as a person. I once worried that maybe I wouldn't fit in here...maybe I wasn't different enough. Well, a year and a half into things I still haven't found anyone else like me. And though some may make my journey more difficult with their inability to understand me, this is still my home. And I have no intention of letting someone, including myself, ruin it for me. To quote my favorite Dreamgirls song: "I'm staying and you're going to love me."
1 comment:
Darling, thank god there's no one else like you.. if we were all the same, imagine what a bleak situation we'd all be in !!! I have never found anybody like me either, and I have to say I quite like it. Your difference should not prevent you from reaching out to others. Now, there might be other reasons why you would rather be in cincinatti, am I right? lol
Post a Comment