Work from Heart and Home

Written by Nasir Harrison. Graphics by Nasir Harrison. 

I’ve never been far from home during my time at SCAD.

I’m from Decatur, Georgia, which is a measly three hours away from Savannah. I’m a stone’s throw away from my queen-size bed with my cats, yet I still get homesick. 

I wake up some days expecting to hear my mom on a conference call through our shared wall, my brother yelling too loudly at his game, or even my dad coming back home from a golf tournament.

I’ll even get out of bed and habitually check the floor to make sure I’m not going to step on either of my cats. Sometimes I’ll go to sleep with a homesick pang in my heart, wishing that I lived further away so I could justify not driving home each and every day.

But that’s the beauty of college.

It teaches me how to persevere in times when I’d rather do anything else. It makes driving home and hugging my mom instead of working on midterms a poor decision. It flat out sucks, but I’ve learned to embrace that feeling- no matter how much I don’t want to–and find a bright side. 

Whenever I get stuck on an assignment or feel lost in a class, I’ll see if I can connect it to something I miss from home.

I think about how I could turn the bittersweet thought of bothering my mom during her meetings into a poem. When I read it back to myself, it becomes more than that. It’s a recollection of what I miss most: my family, my cats, Decatur, and all the little things I can’t find in my dorm room here at SCAD. 

So yeah, I’m homesick. I’m sure I would be even if home were across the street.

It’s hard being away from the things I love, especially since they’re within arm’s reach. When I let that very love bleed out into my poems, essays, designs, and drawings, I’m reminded that my home will follow me no matter where I go.