Sophia says …
Hello again, Tracy! My name is Sophie and I’m back for my third summer as a reporter for the Headlight. I have been officially upgraded from intern status and now get my own regular bi-weekly column! I am also working as the 4-H Summer Intern in Murray County, so chances are high you’ll see me in the area, and most definitely at the fair.
I just finished my first year of college at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. And I’m not going to lie, it’s a little weird to be back.
I remember as a younger highschooler seeing older graduates I knew come back for the summer after their freshman year and thinking to myself how odd it was. To go from living on your own for nine months to stepping straight back into your old routines. Clearly I did not understand the perks of a free laundry room a few feet away (with a dryer!) and a fully equipped kitchen when I was questioning their motives for moving back home. But I still share many of the same sentiments as my younger self.
It is odd to be back, especially because I not only left home, but the entire country. I am appreciating being home, certainly, and being around so many friendly and familiar faces again, but it is not the same. I’m not the same person I was nine months ago, and I have spent that time living an entirely different life. My first few months in Prague I found it difficult to feel like my life in Minnesota and my life in college belonged to the same person. That slowly became better, and I learned how to hold stories and memories from home with me while adding new ones from my new home. But I’ve found myself slipping back into that difficult place a bit these past few weeks. How do I step back into the place that raised me now that I’ve seen somewhere else?
Regardless, southwest Minnesota will always be home to me, and I’ve been immensely enjoying all the wide open space (as the Chicks would say) this little corner of our state has to offer. The morning after I got back I was able to go out and ride again, braving the ever-present wind I most definitely did not miss. So although it feels different, I am glad to be home.
There’s a certain comfort in knowing these country roads remained the same, even if I didn’t.
