Either or?

In a job interview a few weeks ago, I was posed with a question that has stayed with me ever since:

"Do you find comfort in being close to home ...or are you eager to get out and explore the world?"

Since it was an interview, I felt I had to answer one way or another. So I chose the latter.

But I'm not sure how I can claim to be an eager explorer when I have just moved "home" to Richmond, where I am surrounded by friends and family.

True...I did spend four years away at college and three years living in DC, but throughout that time -- except for the semester I spent in Paris -- I was never more than five hours away from the comforts of home.

Yet there is no question in my mind that the most rewarding and enriching moments of my adult life have come from my ventures into the wider world. As I have explored new places and cultures, I have made friends and memories that now define me.

It seems each time I venture out of my comfort zone, I encounter someone or something that illuminates a new layer within the prism of my soul. Afterward, everything I experience filters through that new layer and refracts into thoughts and perspectives I would not otherwise have had.

I am not sure who I would be today if I had never gotten out and explored the world. But I also don't know who I would be today if I did not have a home base to return to after each adventure.
My loyalty to home and family defines me just as much as my fascination with the world beyond.

In the interview, I had to choose one or the other...but in real life I refuse to do so.

And if that means my life becomes a quest to balance these two essential drives, then so be it.

Because I simply can't relinquish either side of myself.