home?

So I made it home.

My parents and I left Dordt early Saturday morning, probably the last time any of us will be there for a long time, and drove across the Iowa countryside, meandering our way to Illinois via the northern route, avoiding the bore of I-80. (I hope DSchel doesn't see this entry, because I'm pretty sure that was an incredibly incorrect run-on sentence. I apologize to all of my English major friends who just cringed.)

Following my parents, driving alone in my packed car, I had a lot of time to reflect. Yes, the customary reflecting about my time at college and who meant the most to me, what events impacted me the most, what I'll miss the most, you know. I was struck by the impact certain professors have had on me.

I also realized that in the last few months, Dordt's promotional bragging about its "sense of community" became a reality for me. Although I always joined in the talk about the strong bonds among students at Dordt, that community became incredibly evident to me when everything came crashing down around me in March when Brian attempted suicide. Too many people to mention--students, faculty and staff alike (and people at Covenant CRC)--told me they were praying for me and opened their homes to me, telling me that if I ever needed anything at all or if I needed to talk, they were there for me. Although I didn't take every person up on their offer, knowing they were there to support and encourage me was more comforting than I first realized.

I'll miss that. I'll miss having 4 or 5 wonderful friends as roommates, there to giggle or discuss or cry with me.

I'm not idolizing the community at Dordt, nor do I want to dramatically claim that I'll never be a part of a community like that again. But there is something unique about living and learning together in a close college community. And I like it. A lot.

I'm sure I'll be adding posts frequently in the next few days...I'm still job searching, and will have lots of free time on my hands!