Essay: Back to the Nest

Back to the Nest

By Starling Root
QuailBellMagazine.com

Home. The place that you never wanted to return. But then you did anyway.

Five years ago, you looked to the future with dizzying daydreams of adventures played out far, far away from the house where you grew up. You'd be teaching English in Seoul by day and dancing in sleek discos by night. You'd be painting political murals in sagging urban neighborhoods across America. You'd be at graduate school in Bordeaux or Barcelona for a year. Maybe one day you'd just throw a couple clean shirts in a knapsack, hop onto a train, and go. No matter the adventure, you'd most certainly never have it at...

Home. Where you live now. Again.  The rush of college has finally subsided and you're back where you'd hoped you'd never be. But beak up, little fledgling. Adventure can be had anywhere, even among the bricks that witnessed your first word, your first step. Adventure won't fault you for flying back to your nest.