Coming home. This can mean so many things from a feeling of excitement and anticipation into familiarity, comfort, and ease. Homecoming traditions began in the early 1900s as a way for colleges to draw their alumni back for football games and the traditions spread to high schools. Bringing together the student body in ways that no other week can through spirit weeks, pep assemblies, dances, royalty, and the big game. We are drawn back to certain places and times for one reason or another not just to root on our home team. Whether it is a holiday tradition or celebration or just needing the nostalgia of a home-cooked meal we are drawn to certain places where we can feel welcomed to share our stories of our times when we were out adventuring. Whether it has been hours or days or even years, we have places that we can “come home” to. Home is not a physical location to me, it is a place where I can be my truest self, where my heart cries out and says, “I am here.” Home is where we tell our stories, where we experience the things that make us who we are. What does homecoming mean for you?

Of course, homecoming plays a huge role in examples of nature as well. Natal homing, where species such as female sea turtles and Pacific Salmon will return to their place of birth to reproduce. As a demonstrated suitable and safe breeding ground, sea turtles will use this homing behavior for their own hatchlings. Pacific salmon undergo the most extreme migration to return to their home stream from the ocean to the freshwater spawning habitat. Bluefin Tuna goes as far as having a chemical imprint from the water properties of their birth location. We carry with us our connections to home and returning can help us to understand our stories that we are writing. What beckons you home?