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I’m just about finished with my third year of college at Stony Brook University, an hour out Long Island by car, two hours by train. Getting home is another few hours, though we’re usually lucky enough to avoid too much New York City traffic. As a result I don’t get home much (Thanksgiving, winter, and spring break are about it). And I miss it. Walton truly is my home.

I’m sure a large part of that feeling is familiarity. But being “born and raised” has the opposite effect as often as not, i.e.,“I want out of here”. But that’s not for me. Sure, I understand the allure of the city—something is always happening, interesting people abound, culture surrounds—but that all comes at a cost. Sooner or later I yearn for the hills, for some peace and quiet, for a space to make my own.

Especially that last…

I want to make things. I think that is my calling in life. It is why I switched majors to study computer science; I wanted to be able to make my ideas reality. And so I spend a lot of time in front of a screen. One could say “You don’t need much space for that”. But here’s the thing: I want to do more than push pixels to a screen. Because while those who work on the web concern themselves with the exchange of information and its presentation, what is information but an impetus, the starting point of action?

And so I need space. Space for ideas to grow. Space for realizing those ideas. Space to set them free.

And what better space than Walton? I know many are frustrated by the state of our village and town. And I am too. I hear youth complaining that there’s nothing to do. And adults complaining about the youth. And there are problems with drugs, well-paying jobs are hard to come by, and our schools struggle in the face of devastating budget cuts. The list goes on.

But the grass isn’t greener on the other side, though perhaps it’s better watered. Walton does have a great sense of community. We do try to take care of ourselves and help out one another, so it’s hard to say try a little harder, help a little more. But what does it hurt, really, to take a few hours away from the TV on a weekend afternoon and pitch in to clean up the town a little or help a neighbor in need?

That is the Walton I love, the place I call home. And I’m going to make an effort to return to Walton someday, as a home of my own. It’s going to be difficult (Where will I find work as a software engineer? I might just have to make work for myself.) but that’s my goal.

Anyway, see you in a week!