The journey home— it is an age-old archetype deeply engrained in humanity. Odysseus sailed the seas fighting off a six-headed monster navigating his way through a whirlpool and evading the call of the sirens— all out of a burning to return home to his beloved Penelope.
Lemuel Gulliver evaded tiny people giant people and pirate people in his quest to get back home.
Shadow Sassy and Chance forged the plains of Oregon crossing perilous rivers and enduring the spikes of a porcupine in an effort to reunite with their owners.
For many of us tomorrow marks the beginning of our journey home. Whether that voyage be a 10-minute trip through the canyon or a 10-hour plane ride across the nation going home is a beautiful beautiful thing.
I recognize that many students generously sacrifice their breaks to serve in another city or even another country. But wherever you are going vacation is a time to break from the routine and to refresh. I plan to fill this time up lounging in my boxers with a bag of Cheetos watching reruns of “Boy Meets World.”
It may seem like a ridiculous waste but this time is sacred. Vacation is all about revitalization and refreshment. We can take a step back from our studies and into our slippers.
Nostalgia— it’s one of the great wonders of returning home. Break gives us a chance to see our old friends and family (unless of course our break is a month before everyone else’s).
But the fulfillment of that longing for certain pieces from our past is truly a gift. For me that fulfillment is found in slices of St. Louis-style thin-crust pizza that put to shame any California pie.
Yes going home is about re-experiencing all the joys you knew before transitioning to college life. Going home means revisiting the memories of high school and then trying to (once again) forget the memories of high school.
It also means basking in the glory of being one of the few graduates to make it out of state. And since our spring break begins in February I get to rediscover the joy of freezing rain and perhaps even a late Missouri snow. But for some odd reason I’d still fight off a Cyclops to leave sunny Malibu for snowy St. Louis.
Change is yet another integral aspect of the travel home.
Everything is different. When I come home tomorrow I’ll have one less dog and one more nephew. Coming home after a long time at school refocuses our priorities and reminds us to appreciate the little things.
Tomorrow I will actually be able to record a TV show and watch it on my own time. I will be able to eat a home-cooked meal… or anything for that matter that is not a chicken burger. I’ll be able to legally talk on my cell phone while driving.
Tomorrow I can pass my laundry to my mother. After today I can actually get a hair cut for less than $50. Tomorrow I can collapse on my couch and finally be able to say “I am home.”
For centuries humans have gone to remarkable lengths to return home. Though today we may not risk our life like the great Odysseus or the mighty Gulliver we do spend egregious amounts of money on travel and irrationally choose to leave the most beautiful city on earth all for a fleeting week at what we so fondly know as home.
Yes there is something very comforting in the mystery of returning home. We regress to our pre-Pepperdine lives for just a brief moment and we soak up every minute. We are freed for a week-long sabbatical from Malibu to enjoy the coziness of whatever constitutes what we call “home.”
So no matter where you are traveling Pepperdine enjoy the journey home.
