Around this time every year, I start thinking about the shift of seasons that coincided with my life-changing journey from adolescence into early adulthood or maybe it was just advanced adolescence and flung my destiny into the unknown. Little did I know what lay ahead of me as that long ago summer drifted slowly by, and I packed up to leave the “nest”. I was ready to meet tomorrow and confront the challenges of mind and spirit that waited for me up ahead. I was very confident. Mainly because I was as green as a gourd and didn’t know any better. I was sure of one thing, however. I was ready to leave behind the unchanging predictability of small-town living. So, with that, I took my suitcase and my new wardrobe from Dolores & Woody’s and took the leap.
The miles in those days seemed a whole lot longer, and the rigors of travel were much harder, but the sights and sounds of my new faraway destination assured me that I had arrived in an exciting distant land. I felt like I had left Swainsboro long, long ago. Actually, it was only 2 hours and 35 minutes. We left at 9:25 and had to stop in Kite for gas and now it was almost time to eat lunch. Well, that didn’t matter, I could already tell that Athens, Georgia was my kind of town. I was a freshman at the University of Georgia, and that meant I was cool. Once again, I thought that mainly because I didn’t know any better and was now as crazy as a black lab puppy with a new frisbee.
I think one of the top seminal moments in anyone’s coming of age is when you actually realize that you are on your own. Mama and Daddy are driving away, and you feel a gentle brain shock as you realize things are definitely different. You now have to look after yourself. When my older brother left to go to the United States Military Academy at West Point, the whole family took him to the airport in Atlanta. As he got on that Delta jet, he shook my hand, and to me, he looked like he was ten feet tall. Driving home, Mom got teary, and Dad got real quiet. A few years later when they dropped me off at my dormitory in Athens, they looked like they were on their way to a party, and they were late. Anyway, it hit me that now, it was just me, myself and I, and we had to get serious about getting a college education in the next four years. A few days after that, I got to thinking about that old saying dealing with the little duck in a big pond. I commented to myself, “Well I never really thought I was a big duck in Swainsboro, but now up here, I’m not even a minnow or even a tadpole.” That was when I walked uptown to the legendary old Varsity restaurant right across Broad Street from old campus. I had two chili dogs, a large fry, and a Coke. That cheered me right up. That cheerfulness lasted about 15 minutes. I left the Varsity and crossed Broad Street and went over to the Arch, the iconic entrance to campus. I was feeling fine until this little girl suddenly started scolding me. “I know you must be a new freshman, but you just walked through the Arch, and you can’t do that until you graduate.” I told her I was sorry, and I just plain didn’t know any better.
Four years after that day, I was packing up to leave Athens. I really didn’t want to go. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at UGA. I made some of the best friends I ever had, and it was my home away from home. But I will confess, just two weeks after moving in as a lowly freshman, I had the chance to catch a ride and come back home for a weekend visit. I took it. So, if a move is in your future, I would just say, “don’t worry, your home will always be where your heart is.” Don’t ever be too quick to cut old ties. It took me a little time to learn that. I guess I just didn’t know any better.
