As I think about a possible move, it reminds me of the last time I packed up and moved...

I’m driving down a two-lane road surrounded by cornfields. The U-Haul is packed to the door. I hate clutter, but it seems I’ve accumulated a lot of things over the last couple years. I’d furnished a small apartment with knickknacks from thrift stores and hand-me-downs, all which had seen better days. But it’s not worth throwing it all out just to start over. So I rented a truck, and my cheap little car is clinging to life on the trailer. I named the car Gus, and we’ve been through a lot, so like the rest of my clutter, I can’t leave him behind. However, I am leaving behind everything else from every category of life: family and friends and memories and geography.

Only a few days ago I was entrenched in normality. Indiana had been my home during all the conscious moments of my life. I finished up with my bachelor’s degree a few months ago, but I guess I needed a few more months to sit around the cheap little rented house with a few other guys. I would work a few days each month to pay off my rent and other miniscule bills, and the rest of the time was reserved for nothing important.

Since I was across the street from the university, I used up a large portion of my time taking advantage of every available facility. I spent a couple hours at the gym every day. I ate at the cafeteria every chance I could get so I could go to the grocery story less often. I would visit friends in dorm rooms, and even, occasionally, meet with some of my former professors. It was a little awkward being on the campus as a graduate, but worth it to get out of the house and have something to occupy my time other than watching a film. The other guys were all taking another semester or two, so by over-indulging in sleep, I would manage to chisel the rest of my time down so I only had enough free time to hang out with them. Everything was easy. I watched Football games at a buddy’s house every week. I would hang out with a girl I liked, but never enough to consider it a relationship. Everything was mediocre, but I only had to do what I wanted to do, and nobody made me to do any more.

So I’m hoping that a change of scenery will shake things up a bit, but I can’t say that there was one single reason why I decided to move to Georgia, it’ definitely a combination of factors. Sure, the job offer prompted the idea and my older brother lives there, and yes, all the songs make it sound so nice. But I think more than anything, a person gets sick of monotony. It’s nice to have a schedule, it’s nice to have comfort, but most people want some excitement in their lives. I guess that need for a thrill was the main reason, maybe a bad one, but the biggest reason among many others why I packed up on a whim and I’m headed south.

So as I drive south on State Road 37, passing through little Mid-western towns, I’m thinking of everything that has just ended. Of course there’s the familiarity of my surroundings. Due to random midnight drives for no other reason than to explore, I know a lot about Marion, Indiana. I’ve explored all the abandoned warehouses inside and out. I know the streets that are better to avoid. I know the little bar on the downtown square and all the people who play there on Thursday nights. There’s the mall with nothing good in it that’s just as fun to wander around as any other mall. There’s the church where I would take people and we’d climb onto the roof. We would keep warm next to the heating duct. There’s the drive to Indianapolis which I’ve made countless times. I can’t get past all the memories, and I think I’m paying more attention to them than the road.

I made the decision so quickly that I had no time to realize its finality. I think about all my friends from four plus years of school, the countless people from my home that had such a fantastic stake in my life, my family. It’s hard to say good bye, but it’s easy when it’s the right thing to do.