Community

Just got back from matriculation dinner, and— I'm not gonna lie— I'm kinda tipsy. After the service we had a big fancy dinner with lots of wine, so I'm kinda done for the night. (There was also an after party on the roof of one of the apartment buildings; I went for a while, and Adam is still over there as I write this.)

It's so nice to feel like part of a community again. After UWC and Vassar, I became used to feeling like I was part of a community, but in Ohio, I always felt like an outsider. I wasn't born and bred in Y-town, and so that meant that a lot of people thought of me as an interloper. Being interested in learning and reading and thinking wasn't something I could share with a lot of people (besides my family and my husband, of course), so I didn't have a lot of friends this past year.

But here, everyone has a smile for me. Everyone says, "Hello, Philosophy!" (or even "Hello, Sophy!") and everyone asks about my job and my cats, and no one makes me feel silly or uncomfortable or lonely. Do you know that another couple in our building asked us over for dinner on Sunday? In Youngstown, I didn't know anyone else; everyone else there was kind enough to me, but they all assumed that because I was smart, I was a snob.

This is HOME, in a way I never expected it to be. Every day, when I get off of work, I can't wait to get back home. Our apartment may be messy (and it's about to get messier— we're painting this weekend!) but it's where I belong.

I love living here so much. Thank the Lord we made it here at last!