I either read or heard somewhere a few years ago that children of divorce who traveled between their parent's respective homes growing up have the hardest time "establishing themselves" as adults. Apparently, this is attributed to the nomadic tendency essentially embedded in these kids from an early age (depending on the age their parents got divorced).
I thought this was interesting when I heard it the first time, but I never thought much about it until I moved to Charleston. My parents separated shortly before my 5th birthday. Under the agreement, my brother and I would go to my dad's house every evening from 5-7 pm, and spend every Friday night at his house as well. Of course this involved a bit of traveling back and forth, but honestly, I considered myself pretty lucky because I saw my dad a lot more than some of my friends saw theirs, and they were not necessarily children of divorce.
However, the more I think about my living arrangements through the years, I think some truth lies in this study. I have a very Type-A personality, which is the type of person this study primarily targeted, and I also have a very hard time staying in one place. I have moved 10 times since I graduated from high school in 2001. So ten times in 9 years. Yeesh. Nomadic, much?
But, further than that, wherever I live, I always feel the necessity to get away from that place on days where there might a lull in activity. For instance, I now live in Charleston. I am busy beyond belief during the weekdays, but the weekends sort of throw me because I feel like I should be doing something. I cannot make myself study at my house because I get antsy staying home all day so I leave on the weekends. But this is not just a phenomena that started in Charleston - when I lived in Greenville, I have a hard time remembering staying at my apartment there on the weekends. Even when I lived at home in Spartanburg, rarely did I stay at my own house on the weekends; I constantly invaded Alison's home and took up residence there (still do, but trying to be better!)
I can't remember the last time when I spent a whole day at home, totally relaxed, and did nothing. There always comes an overwhelming desire at some point to get out of the hosue before I go crazy. I'm not sure what this tendency means about me, but I know that one day I would like to feel settled in one place...
