Homeward Bound

Well, perhaps I should change the name of the blog soon to "Independent Loose in Mississippi," because I will be returning to the fair Magnolia State at the end of October. It is a temporary move, but by temporary, I could be talking 7 to 8 months, so if you're a fruit fly, I guess it's pretty damn long.
What prompted this, you may ask?
Well, it's a myriad (GRE word) of reasons, quite frankly.
I moved here toward something. I wanted to work for John Kerry's campaign, but honestly, Kerry, was about as peripheral to me then as he is to the rest of the country now.
I knew that Mississippi was not the place where I would be born and die in, and there would never be any in-between. I was terrified beyond terrified about leaving everything familiar I had ever known, and so, I remained stuck there for longer than I feel comfortable admitting while all the while wanting to know what "the unknowable" was all about.
So, I made a decision, a fairly quick decision about how I wanted to leave there that came in the shape of fundraising for John Kerry, and I never looked back.
Now what has happened since the finale of that election has been another story. I have liked living in Philadelphia way more than I have disliked it, but I also have been railing against the harsh reality that I have not flourished here, mainly because I wanted to prove to someone, perhaps myself, that I could make it outside of Mississippi.
The funny thing about what I've finally come to realize, is that I can make it outside of Mississippi. I have totally made it outside of Mississippi, and for that, I kick absolute ass.
What has changed, perhaps, is my realization about the way my life is going to go in the next few years. I will be in graduate school next fall, where I don't know, but that's a story and stress inducer for another day. It will be well outside of Mississippi, that I can guarantee. But when I go to graduate school, at the ripe old age of 29, I will be committed to that for at least a couple of years, and that is pretty much it for any significant amount of time I will be able to save money, connect with friends, travel and generally avoid adulthood, as I have been wont to do lo these 28 years.
And who knows what may transpire in my life between now, next fall, and the conclusion of graduation school? The possibilities are endless. If you had told me 2 years ago that I would be sitting in my apartment in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, discussing moving back to Mississippi, I would've scoffed and pointed out your obvious drug habit.
Life takes you on many twists and turns and planning for them is utterly pointless. So, finally, maybe, I can just enjoy the ride and stop having to have every single detail mapped out for me. Because, frankly, that sounds boring, and I have been accused of many, many things, but boring has never topped the list.