Slamming closed the back of the U-Haul truck forced me to come to terms with what’s to come: I’m leaving everything I’ve known behind me.
My parent’s house with the peeling paint on the side and the old dirt road that I spent years playing on would become only memories as I left for Durham.
As I drive through my hometown, with the old traffic light on Main, I saw the library where I spent years reading books at and where I repaid them by doing my Eagle Scout project there. And the American Legion building too, where us scouts would meet. Both now are landmarks of youth, and I drive past them one final time.
As I passed through more towns, I began to get nervous. Sure, most of it was from excitement for the future, but there also was the fears which were hiding. The what-ifs. “What if you struggle with class?”, “What if you get homesick?”, “What if you fail?”. The questions tried to grow into a massive mountain, which I for sure thought the U-Haul wouldn’t be able to make it up.
And suddenly, I was there.
I was in Durham.
I was alone.
I was free.