![]() It seems I can go home again. My online graduate school journey eventually ran out of zoom, so I made a long overdue drive to the Loveliest Village on the Plains. Auburn University was my home for six unforgettable years as I completed undergraduate and grad school from ’88-’94. I won’t say I did it all, but I can say I lived it up and made the most of every moment. Some of the best times of my life. Some of my hardest. Auburn is a home to me, and my Auburn family is a communion of people around the world who share similar values. Auburn people can throw a WDE pretty fast when we spot our colors. I’ve found Auburn fans in Italy, Haiti, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and England. We love this university the way Bulldog fans love Athens, and the way Tech fans love their slice of Atlanta. My AU family grew last year as graduate school handed me a diverse group of colleagues who are sharp, oh so funny, and eager to embrace languages as much as I do. We might be a bit quirky, but we appreciate that unusual desire to navigate different languages as a profession. We share a passion for learning and sharing what we know in a world where language instruction is a bit of an enigma. We answer that relentless question, “Why would you want to learn another language when one is hard enough? Our response is simple. We want more. -More combinations of sounds, accents, vowel blends, and nuances of vocabulary that are sung, said, or written through literature, science, math, or music -More history and opportunities to meet unique people who share their stories through it -More art in all its imaginative forms, including food and unusual works of art that transcend spoken word -More culture and a multitude of perspectives that emerge through simple or complicated customs We want more of our world and less of ourselves. A few weeks ago, I approached the education building at Auburn hoping I would recognize something- anything. I swung open double doors to a swoosh of thirty-year-old memories and was pleasantly surprised that Haley Center has not changed too much. While Auburn’s campus doubled in size with beautiful new street designs and impressive architecture on every corner, HC stands near the heart of campus, not too far from our beloved stadium, Jordan-Hare. Was what I felt simply silly nostalgia of an Auburn alum returning to campus? Another seminar took me back last weekend. I decided this isn’t nostalgia; it’s coming full circle. Coming home. Recognizing those strange echoes of former years brings a smile, but I embrace them in the present. A personal favorite- my mild panic of being late while searching for classrooms in quadrant after quadrant. Some things have not changed. I inhale that intoxicating mixture being young and growing up. I still feel young-ish. I’m still trying to grow up. My good and bad memories, accomplishments and regrets, twist together as bittersweet facts of life. Sometimes we learn the easy way and sometimes we must learn the hard way. I know now I can go home again and build new memories upon old ones. Thirty years ago, I stood at a payphone in the basement of Haley Center when I received the news of the birth of my youngest cousin Adam. Last Saturday, I sat in class in this same building receiving texts and updates as Adam passed along news of the birth of his first child, Logan. Curious, I rode the elevator up to the world languages department. My old GTA office is now a mail room. Another pleasant surprise- my current teaching assistant is an Alpha Chi alum like me. I used to think my life ran like an arrow from point A to B to C, a sequential chain of events. Now, I see these lines embedded in circles that swirl in a loop around an infinite number of possibilities, some bringing me back to a starting place in a way I did not imagine for myself. Staying on a straight line does not interest me anymore. After classes, I drove back to Americus by myself, anxious to get home because my precious people were waiting there, too. Americus is home, but so is Cordele and Apalachicola. Home is a choice. It is anywhere that I choose to take my faith and find family. It’s when I stand in a circle of book club friends singing praise God from whom all blessings flow. It’s where I laugh, cry, panic, and hug people who know my best and worst and love me anyway. It’s why I work so hard and pray so hard and love so hard. It’s Georgia, Alabama, Arizona, or North Carolina. It’s Haiti, Costa Rica, France, or Spain. It’s how I feel when God places his gentle hand of Peace over me, asking me to rest a while in His grace. Going home is not an Auburn thing. It’s not even a Southern thing. For me, it’s God directing my path. He goes before me; I just have to follow. P.S. War Eagle! P.P.S. Thank you God - for Bob for knowing this about me and for giving us the chance to take home on the road every now and then.
2 Comments
Laura Bauer
6/8/2021 08:29:57 am
Your gift of words is such a gift to us all. Thank you for sharing your nostalgic reflections. Know that although I'm a die-hard Bama fan, I love you and I love the importance that Auburn has in your past and current life. I'll even say WDE!
Reply
Jeannie
6/9/2021 06:19:31 am
I smiled (and honestly got a little teary-eyed) as I read your post. What beautiful memories & descriptions of “home”. I enjoyed reading every word because so much resonated with me. Thank you for sharing and War Eagle!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Details
JoAnna Arnold
|