Home

Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

There is something to be said in making a new home. What exactly differs home from just a place you reside? While sometimes I have found adjustment to a new location difficult, once settled into a routine the feeling of home is almost instantaneous. If I hadn't mentioned this before, I'm a student at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A transplant from rural Pennsylvania, the culture shock for me was more intense than being abroad.
In Germany, it took but a few days to completely settle in, get used to not hearing English, and sleep with all of the windows open thanks to the lack of air conditioning. While the language barrier may be intimidating to some, I was thrilled to have it and even more thrilled to watch it disappear as my German language skills progressed. Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, I was with my family. My German "Opa und Oma" loved me as if I was their own granddaughter, and likewise I felt as though I had known them all my life. 
That was then. While I can't wait to scrape together the money for another plane ticket to the "homeland", this is my new home here in Philadelphia. Not just a place of residence, but home. The photo above is probably one of the most common sights for me during the day; sitting in the cafe of Presser (the music building) chatting, doing homework, listening to music. My new life is here. Good? Bad? This is not my kitchen table back home, nor my couch with my cat curled up next to me. But, I'd say it's a good thing that I'm here instead. I'm sitting on a bench of sorts surrounded by some of the most artistically and musically talented minds in the world; a peer to each and every one of them. How amazing is that? This room has an entire wall made of glass so natural light floods the room giving it a more natural feel than simply a cafe in the middle of Filth-a-delphia.
Home is where you make it, and I'm making mine here at Presser, 1200 Broad, and my practice room on the third floor with a view of the campus. This is home for me - I have a kitchen for god's sake.