Maybe Home is a Thought, Not a Place

Saturday is the day; flying back to the city whether I'm ready or not.  So much has changed since I left New York.  While I probably would have liked to have been back in the city a little sooner, these weeks home have provided much needed time for reflection.  I think, for me at least, I can't be sure where I'm going until I know where I have been.  And you can't know where you have been until you turn around a look back for a minute.

The idea of "home" has been something I've thought about so much over the last few weeks, months even.  For a majority of my life I lived at the same tri-level going to the same schools.  Home was all I knew.  Now, I have many homes.  My first new "home" was West Lafayette, Indiana.  My second was Florence.  Third, (and yes I count it because it was such a moving experience -- no pun intended) Paris.  Fourth, New York City.  Each home has it own scents, habits, memories, friends, and every home I have made on my own.  Building nests of comfort in these cities which I never considered the impact of abandoning each.  Unable to tend for these nests while building a new one.  How can we abandon these homes? These works of art?

There is a song I first heard so many years ago, I believe shortly after I first moved away from home. The one line which caught my attention was the single line which I could empathize with. 

"Maybe home is a thought, not a place; you can move and still be safe."

The idea that my home was a strictly an artistic representation of all feelings which comfort me, comforted me further in a time of misunderstanding. That was all I understood when I first heard this song.  I attached this phrase to my memory like a deer tick and ran it through my mind whenever I felt anxious.

But now, since my home has expanded to so many more faces and rooms and cities, I found that this entire song is my anthem.

"I wanna steal from you only you, make room for you."  I take what I want from these physical homes, to create a room of my own.  As a world traveler, I desire these new boundaries, the expansions. 

"I am the thief who leaves it behind: the moon and the window."  But as a traveler, I can leave it behind as well.  The moon -- the intangibles such as the scents and the memories.  The window -- the tangibles such as the actual physical bedrooms I stayed in, the addresses which once belonged to me.  I'm the thief who leaves it all behind.

I could go on, but I think you get the point.  I'm heading back to NYC to continue mass robberies. 

Here's the full song: "Souvenir" by The Duke Spirit YOUTUBE LINK

FLORENCE

PARIS

NEW YORK CITY

Welcome to My Travel Blog

Hello everyone! Welcome to my travel blog! As many of you know, this summer I will be traveling to Italy for study abroad at the Accademia Italiana, and then off to New York City for The Fashion Institute of Technology!  I'm writing under my design pseudonym, Kat DyLynne, for two reasons: first, to remain somewhat anonymous to the outside world, and secondly, it's just more fun! ;]

The purpose of my blog is first and foremost to share my experiences at Accademia Italiana in the Intensive Fashion Program with prospective students, as requested by the Purdue University Study Abroad Program.  In posting anecdotes, photos, and videos, I can give others an inside look at what they can expect should they choose to pack their bags for Florence as well.  Secondly, this blog gives my family and friends a chance to see what I'm up to while I'm away from home for so long -- I will continue writing after my study abroad program and through my year in The Big Apple.  I encourage everyone to comment as much as you wish; live vicariously through me until your heart is content!

I would like to thank the many offices and organizations for their continuous support and preparation for my time abroad, as well as their generosity in funding my education in Italy:

Purdue University
Purdue Office of Study Abroad
Arcadia University: The College of Global Studies
Accademia Italiana, Florence
My professors and advisers at Purdue
My parents and grandparents & all of my friends and family!

Without everyone's help and support, my experiences abroad would not be possible!  With just over three weeks until I board my plane, I'll be busy reviewing my art history knowledge, learning as much Italian as I can absorb, and constantly going over my packing list! (Psst...I am always open for advice!)

If you have a Google account, you can follow my posts by clicking the link to the right.  If you do not have a Google account, you can follow by e-mail updates, also linked to the right.  I will try to always post links to my updated posts through my Facebook page as well.

Stay in touch,
Katelynne E.