Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.
Home.
It's where you live, right?
Or is it somewhere you go from time to time?
As a college student, this idea of home is always being questioned. You talk about going home, but you mean going to where your parents are, to where you grew up. You refer to your dorm, your apartment, where you reside at school as a home as well. But which is it?
Now, it becomes even more complicated as you become a senior. Trust me, I am one now and the thought of home has been scraping it's long nails across a chalkboard - the sound makes me cringe and forces all of my attention on it.
My situation is unique, because I am losing an apartment and a boyfriend this month. We lived together in Lakeview. It felt like home with him there. Now he's moving to Athens, Georgia for graduate school.
And me?
Well I'm spending a semester in London.
Oh yeah, I'm studying abroad. In the heart of London at the University of Westminster.
So home is a strange concept. I'll be in limbo (living with the boyfriend and my family members) until September comes and I fly off to a new country, a new school, a new dorm, and new neighbors. I'll take new classes, live in a new country, meet new people, and hopefully have the absolute best time of my life.
And then, a week before Christmas, I'll come home.
There it is, that word home.
So for Christmas it will mean being with my parents and my family.
But then what do I do with myself?
I'll still have at least 1 semester (10 weeks) at DePaul University in Chicago before I have enough credits to graduate. But, I won't exactly have anywhere to live. As well as I might not have any cash leftover from London to get a place.
Of course, this irritation, worry and debate about home and what to do has left me in quite a pickle. So I console myself by attempting to find studio apartments in Chicago that I could possibly live in. My most recent favorite is this: 3510 North Pine Grove
This apartment was found on Vacancy.com and, to my joy, wasn't ridiculously expensive. It's actually right across the street from my apartment now (on the corner of Brompton and Pine Grove) and I've walked past it numerous times to get to the Jewel Osco for groceries. It's in a location I know, near friends, near the joy of lakeview, near boys town, and would feel familiar after a whole world of new.
Perhaps it's just comfort that has drawn me to this apartment in my nervous hunt. But you have to admit, heat, gas, and water all included in rent is pretty nice. I also felt better about the size of the apartment with their floor plan organizer. I could pretend to put all my pieces of furniture in the room and arrange it in different ways. It was kind of like playing The Sims in an apartment layout - arranging and rearranging and adding more furniture.The large living/dining area could actually fit all the stuff I have/need.
There also actually seems to be a separate kitchen area with counters and a stove and fridge. Which is seriously important if you cook/bake as much as I do. It's this whole aspiring food writer thing that draws me to the kitchen.
Although the place would be small and emptier without a boyfriend. It's something to have consolation in an apartment that is familiar, in a decent price range, and would allow me to find a new home after living out of a suitcase for months.
But who knows what the future will bring, right?
- Mollie Diedrich
It's where you live, right?
Or is it somewhere you go from time to time?
As a college student, this idea of home is always being questioned. You talk about going home, but you mean going to where your parents are, to where you grew up. You refer to your dorm, your apartment, where you reside at school as a home as well. But which is it?
Now, it becomes even more complicated as you become a senior. Trust me, I am one now and the thought of home has been scraping it's long nails across a chalkboard - the sound makes me cringe and forces all of my attention on it.
My situation is unique, because I am losing an apartment and a boyfriend this month. We lived together in Lakeview. It felt like home with him there. Now he's moving to Athens, Georgia for graduate school.
And me?
Well I'm spending a semester in London.
Oh yeah, I'm studying abroad. In the heart of London at the University of Westminster.
So home is a strange concept. I'll be in limbo (living with the boyfriend and my family members) until September comes and I fly off to a new country, a new school, a new dorm, and new neighbors. I'll take new classes, live in a new country, meet new people, and hopefully have the absolute best time of my life.
And then, a week before Christmas, I'll come home.
There it is, that word home.
So for Christmas it will mean being with my parents and my family.
But then what do I do with myself?
I'll still have at least 1 semester (10 weeks) at DePaul University in Chicago before I have enough credits to graduate. But, I won't exactly have anywhere to live. As well as I might not have any cash leftover from London to get a place.
Of course, this irritation, worry and debate about home and what to do has left me in quite a pickle. So I console myself by attempting to find studio apartments in Chicago that I could possibly live in. My most recent favorite is this: 3510 North Pine Grove
This apartment was found on Vacancy.com and, to my joy, wasn't ridiculously expensive. It's actually right across the street from my apartment now (on the corner of Brompton and Pine Grove) and I've walked past it numerous times to get to the Jewel Osco for groceries. It's in a location I know, near friends, near the joy of lakeview, near boys town, and would feel familiar after a whole world of new.
Perhaps it's just comfort that has drawn me to this apartment in my nervous hunt. But you have to admit, heat, gas, and water all included in rent is pretty nice. I also felt better about the size of the apartment with their floor plan organizer. I could pretend to put all my pieces of furniture in the room and arrange it in different ways. It was kind of like playing The Sims in an apartment layout - arranging and rearranging and adding more furniture.The large living/dining area could actually fit all the stuff I have/need.
There also actually seems to be a separate kitchen area with counters and a stove and fridge. Which is seriously important if you cook/bake as much as I do. It's this whole aspiring food writer thing that draws me to the kitchen.
Although the place would be small and emptier without a boyfriend. It's something to have consolation in an apartment that is familiar, in a decent price range, and would allow me to find a new home after living out of a suitcase for months.
But who knows what the future will bring, right?
- Mollie Diedrich