On Home + Growth

I have been thinking about what it means to grow up, build a home, and create your own life. This could be for multiple reasons. First, my best friend Meg's wedding is tomorrow. I can't believe it! Time feels frozen to me, like I'm watching a movie. All we visualized for so many years, coming true.

Second, I was talking to a friend last night about how much we love this phase of life. I have many times journaled about how I want to bottle up and store away what it means to be in my early 20s. I love my friends, I love hearing about their dates, dreams, and learnings. I love settling into my work. I love the hope of building a life that is still ahead of me. I love the thrill of figuring it out.

This has all prompted me to reshare this reflection on what home means to me as a single girl. I am typing this from my bedroom at my parent's house in Ohio. It is all feeling so nostalgic.

The passing of time, it comes quick. These days, what a gift.

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I moved to Charleston three years ago without knowing anyone. To be a single woman building a home for yourself — home feels more subtle than stereotypical.

How do you know when you’re home?

Here are the signs I look for:

Hearing “The one with the pink door?” from the Uber driver. The thickness of this humidity. The now comforting smell of the marsh. The sound of my alarm clock - and the washing machine. The ding of welcome home texts. A split quesadilla. A “You’re doing a good job” from my therapist. Blueberries in the fridge. The whirl of a morning smoothie.

A “Where you been?” from my neighbor. Tons of weeds to pull. The bell on the door of the nail salon down the street. A timely reminder - “discomfort causes growth, and don’t forget to breathe” at the gym.

Strangers who now say, “Wow, I missed you.” Clean sheets. A litany of people you desperately want to see. When you open your mailbox and think, “All this? Addressed to me?” When your muscle memory knows your nightly walk routine.

The way you can turn the music up when you live alone. A visit to the adoration chapel you get to call your own. Your name on a coffee cup - a sign of being known.

When you say things like, “God, I can’t believe you cut out this corner of the world and gave it to me.” The release that comes from returning to a place you can’t believe you once didn’t know. Home. ❤️

Everything changes! Enjoy today!

C