Home

People say home is where the heart is. Well, if that's true, then home is definitely in Kansas with my OYANers and Mr. and Mrs. S and the workshops.

Lately, I've been feeling like there's something missing in my life. Something that's been torn out of me, leaving me emotionless and empty. It's like I'm at home, but I'm not REALLY at home. A piece of my heart is gone, left long ago in the summer months of last year, in a lovely little place called Olathe, Kansas. And I long for that life again.

Don't get me wrong now. I love my family here in Canada. I love my life, love my friends, love everything about this place and where God has put me in life. I love that He's given me a purpose for living, a chance to be a warrior to fight for truth. But sometimes a person has to dream. And sometimes that dream is Kansas, at a writer's workshop, with a bunch of crazy homeschooled teens and a growing number of college students. And sometimes that dream is something else. But I'd like to say my dream is to be with my OYANers again.

I've been an OYANer for three and a half years now. I've been through many of the ruts and bumps that an online forum community can possibly have, and I've been through some of the most amazing, life-changing moments of my life. I've made some of the best friends I have through that curriculum and community, and I've learned more about myself and about God through it all. I love that not only have I, as an individual, grown over these past three and a half years, but the entire OYAN family has grown and developed and matured along with one another. And there's a whole host of people who are new to this wonderful thing, and we, as an older generation, get to disciple and advise them along their writing/life journeys. :)

So, yes. My heart lies with OYAN. OYAN is my home. And even though it's looking impossible for me to travel back to see my family this summer, I can hold onto the hope of one day meeting them again. It's that one place I belong. I said I would never leave back when I first started... I never knew how much that small commitment would really mean.

It's changed my life. For the better.