It is said that home is where the heart is, So obviously I've reunited with mine. It's all good and wonderful to live away from home and immerse yourself in a different experience, but nothing beats walking down familiar streets and being able to hail familiar people who you've grown used to since birth. It's also wonderful to be reunited with your family and for me personally the love of my life, The Beach.
I've been hitting up every beach I can find now that I've made my way home and I've been to 3 already since I've been back. I'm sharing a few photos from a beach visit I made exactly a week ago which I think came out very well considering my younger brother took them.
I didn't realize just how much i missed home until i got back. It was such a refreshing feeling peeping out of the window on the airplane and seeing my island grow closer and closer as the plane made its decent. It hit me solid in the chest for the first time. A wave of emotion coming over me. It was then that I actually realized that i'd been away from home for an entire year and that I had been living in a foreign place by myself for the most part.
I've always appreciated Antigua. I've loved most things about my home for a large chunk of my life. Returning though, after being away for so long gave me a renewed appreciation for the little things that made home what it was.
I appreciate walking through town and having someone stop me and look in my face and rattle off who my people are. It gives me a sense of belonging... they know me.. i have roots here.. this is my place. I appreciate screaming people's names out the window of the passenger side of my mom's vehicle. I feel like i'm apart of this close web of people because unlike in London where i don't know anyone.. I can always spot a familiar face when walking through St. Johns.
I also never knew something bothered me until my friend Adia pointed it out. I never realized that I had actually missed looking out and seeing the end of the island.. seeing the sea. It never actually bothers me in London but now when i look out and see the sea when i'm walking through town I realize that I'm not trapped. That i'm not stuck in this sea of high rises and people who won't ever know my name or register my face.
I've also missed being around people who sound like me and who understand certain words I may use and references I make. It's honestly refreshing.
Most importantly, I have missed the Beach. I missed waking up on a Sunday and being able to take the car on a 5 minute drive to jump off the jetty and submerge myself in Salt water. It's awful going from beach trips every weekend to not even seeing a coastline.
I had an amazing time in London and I can't wait to go back. However, there are certain experiences, feelings and sensations that can only be brought about by being Home.
These Photos Were Taken by my Brother at Windward Bay in Antigua <3