Road Trip: Away To College

One January Saturday morning, my parents drove me to college. It was a road trip that forever changed my life. They left me well over three hundred miles away from the home I had known all my life. This new place was a small room with two roommates and a dorm full of characters who became among the closest friends I have ever known. I did not see that coming when we pulled out of the family driveway that Saturday morning.

I don’t recall much about the actual trip. It was cold and sunny. The trip seemed to take forever. We finally got there and mostly unpacked. Soon enough, it was midday Sunday and my parents were leaving to return to Georgia while I was staying behind in a place where I only knew a handful of people.

Life suddenly was different. While I had good roommates and made good friends then, I was still homesick. Within a few days of my arrival, I had the days counted until spring break. I remember thinking if I could just make it to that time when I could go home to visit, I could come back for the seven or so weeks remaining to finish out the semester and then never return.

So, I waited for mid-March. It came in the form of a Friday. My classes ended around lunchtime. I was riding back to Georgia though with a friend whose classes did not end until later in the afternoon. By the time we were joined by a third rider, we were leaving campus later than I hoped but we were finally on the road.

I remember some things about that trip. I know we took turns driving. It seemed to take a long time to get where we wanted to be. The one major thing that sticks out to me about that trip was a great realization that I loved my parents and family more than I ever understood. I remember looking out the car window into the velvety darkness thinking about my life and what I planned to do with it. I knew what I was doing was not easy but I think I then began to understand it was something I had to do.

I finally got back into Mom and Dad’s house after midnight. It was good to be back there. Soon enough, I would see other family members during the week. The week ended though. Before I was ready, we were on our way back to college.

The remaining weeks at school seemed to pass quicker than those first few weeks. It wasn’t long before my parents came to pick me up and we drove home for my summer break. At one point in that recent past, I was certain if I could make it to those first few days of May then I would never go back. When we left that day in May though, I knew deep down in my heart I would be back. I just did not see that coming when this journey started on a sunny, cold January Saturday morning.

Playlist for "Road Trip: Away To College"
Van Halen "Panama"
Nena "99 Luft Balloons"
Christine McVie "Got A Hold On Me"
Oak Ridge Boys "I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometimes"
Cyndi Lauper "Time After Time"
Elton John "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues"
John Mellencamp "Pink Houses"
Jackson Browne "For A Rocker"
The Cars "You Might Think"
The Go-Gos "Head Over Heels"
The Pretenders "Middle of the Road"
Tony Carey "A Fine, Fine Day"