Carolina In My Mind

Two years ago I left Wilmington, North Carolina to move a little closer to my family. I spent 2 years in Virginia going to school and then 3 in Wilmington working at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. To be honest, I never anticipated being away from my family that long. Five years is a long time, although looking back it doesn't seem that long. Moving away from Wilmington was bittersweet at best. I became very close with my friends there (many of them had relocated to Wilmington as well). I think that in a sense a surrogate family formed because we were all so far away from home, starting our first jobs out of grad. school. I had already assumed I would never have friends like the ones I made in college, but the people I met in Wilmington are some of my closest friends.

I was the first to leave and that was tough for me. I hated the fact that while I never intended to move so far away from home, it was so difficult to leave this place. My leaving was rough on my friends, too. I think we were all getting restless for a change of scenery. Wilmington is a phenomenal place to live for a young person. It is a small city, located on the ocean with a thriving film industry. However, it seems isolated to someone who grew up in New England with major cities (NY and Boston) nearby along with small communities scattered in between. Basically if what you needed wasn't in Wilmington, then it would be a two hour drive to Raleigh to find it. So after three years there, homesickness was starting to sink in. Every trip home made returning to Wilmington harder. My friends were going through the same thing. It also didn't help that I was getting restless in my job. I loved working there but I was antsy for new responsibilities and a new setting. So when a job presented itself back home, the decision to move was made. However, it wasn't an easy one. I would be the first of my friends to actually do it. If you know me, you know I have a phobia of being left out of any good time, and man we had had some good times.

So why this trip down Melancholy Lane? This Wednesday I am flying to Wilmington for the first time since leaving. My friend Shannon has flown to see me 4 or 5 times since I left and I am past due to visit her. She has very nicely put her foot down and pointed out it is time for me to visit her. While I am so excited to see her and the rest of the wonderful people that I met there, I am anxious, because you really can't go home again. Of our group of friends, only Shannon remains. In a lot of ways I don't want to ruin the sense of nostalgia that I have for the place. However, the chance to see my friends out weighs the trepidation I feel.

So Wilmington, be warned. I am coming back, let the debauchery begin.