Home

It's been about two weeks since school has begun and I have moved into the residence halls at school, but I still cannot forget what I was greeted with upon my arrival: a box. The room was stark white, with nothing but a few pieces of furniture. Immediately, I wanted to drop my bags and go home. Airplane, train, car, even by foot--I would have taken any of those ways to go back.

But how fast that feeling goes away. My roommate comes screaming down the hall to tackle me with a hug. My friend comes with his car ready to take me to retrieve my stuff from storage. And slowly, with each box of stuff I opened and put away, I rebuilt my home.

I know that as a first year student at Pacific or a international student you may not have had the luxury of having a roommate as excited as mine to see you, or a friend as eager as mine to help you get settled in. But my hope for you is that you will find these people--that you will be able to return to where you were before arriving at Pacific and be able to say, "Hey, I left a little bit of me at Pacific. I miss it."

With that, welcome to Pacific. I wish for you dearly to accomplish all the goals and ambitions you came with. I encourage you to reflect deeply and write things down (even the things you'll be embarrassed to read 5, 10, 15 years down the line.) Then you will see your growth and development, and know that your time here was well spent--however long that time may be for you.

A room is just a room. A house is just a building. It's the people, the feelings, the things shared within that place that creates home.

Looking ahead to creating a new home,
Joanne Min