I miss a lot of things (Nashville, my community, my Starbucks, my commute, my job, working, teaching, my coworkers, the skyline, trees, hills, the color green, the parks, the trails, the rain (surprisingly), my family, my friends, my acquaintances, and my routine.) That list can and will get more lengthy the longer I am away.
But I think one of the things I’m surprised to miss: I miss talking about God, and morality, and faith, and theology. This surprises me, obviously, because I figured that in seminary, I would laterally slide, but continue to have the same types of conversations as frequently as I was having them inNashville. But the truth is, those conversations are hard to start, even if we all know that we’re here for similar reasons. Back home I had years invested in our discussion group, and it’s unrealistic of me to expect that to instantaneously happen here.
Plus there is reading to do, papers to write, projects to plan, grades to be made, and panic attacks to work through, much less establishing a new life, friends, and home.
I miss being able to refer to the OctoGod and having people, while they might roll their eyes, understand what I am saying. I miss being understood and being able to understand others.
This is the challenge of being somewhere new. I knew it was coming, it’s just surprising how deep it goes.
Becca Kello 