Why are people so fascinating to watch? Again, the novelty of lives around me infringes upon my impending deadlines (currently, the one for this column). So, I keep interrupting myself by glancing above the computer screen to sneakily observe everyone. The habits, the appearances and the parts of a stranger’s day of which we sometimes get a glimpse—it’s all a window into a casual unknown world. It’s intriguing because it’s so…unfamiliar.

And, to some degree, it’s this fondness for the unfamiliar that makes me so dedicated to the search for unvisited places: new restaurants, new cafes, new places to study on and off campus. I’ve spent a lot of my time creating that personal definition of “adventure.” It was exemplified in the quest my darling roommate from last year and I created to explore the Bay Area in which we dined at 26 new restaurants (at least) whose names started with each subsequent letter of the alphabet, A to Z. It was the most delicious urban exploration project ever. There were so many are-we-lost/is-that-a-ticket scares, unexpected landmark discoveries and crazy culinary discoveries (black sesame and taro gelato!). We’d know the name of our destination, but everything in between was always beautifully vague. (We didn’t have a car, so transportation logistics were enjoyably fuzzy, too.) For 26 letters, my dear Ms. Edie and I, often joined by parties of good friends, ventured into the geographical unknown. A lot of unfamiliar became familiar, and then became favorites.

Lately, though, I’ve realized an unforeseen side effect of my love affair with the unfamiliar: a neglect of what I do know. Somehow, I have so many favorite places, and many fewer repeat visits. In economic terms, I generally seem to view going back as the opportunity cost for going somewhere new, and the opportunity cost always seems relatively large. Actually, at this very moment, I’m writing at a new café marked out for being a local Mountain View favorite. And, as they say, their coffee is good (even if it’s in the process of getting cold right now). So, yay! I’m pleased!—and that’s the short-term benefit. The long-term benefit is feeling like I’m doing my best to get to know a place I likely won’t return to very much when I grow up/graduate.

But I think my increasingly endless mission to seek out the local unseen is adding to the exhaustion of this quarter for me. It’s combining with the sense that my course load is slowly and almost unnoticeably lowering my average energy levels. And I feel like I’ve done so much growing this quarter, which hasn’t even hit a full three months yet. After the events of my past summer, I’m wondering if maybe I’ve just developed a personality that sees everything as a major new revelation. (That’s probably it, although I guess I’ve always known I was optimistic and dramatic.) But now I feel a bit…tired. I’m a bit tired by all the surprises, even though I’ve gained from them all.

I can’t deny my attraction to novelty. But maybe I’m exaggerating it a bit. Maybe I’m over-exaggerating my need for it. I think my subconscious response to that is, conversely, getting super excited about returning to some highly familiar faces and habits back home. I’m definitely lucky in the fact that all the “homes” around which my life centers are places I’ve always loved going back to. But I’ve never felt more ready than I do now to head back to my tiny, reliably unchanging little beach town. Of course, it’s not the location that matters; fundamentally, I’m looking forward to reuniting with a few certain things and people I know very well.

Most likely, my impulse for over-action has been in overdrive. This morning, at breakfast, several friends from my dorm and I were talking about how realistic it was to just sit and not overthink and be in the moment. I think it’s difficult and totally possible. I think it has a lot to do with being content with what we already know and are lucky to have.

Adventuring out to the new and unfamiliar will always be a passion of mine. But I might be making myself more tired by constantly looking around for everything I haven’t seen yet. There are so many things in my life I’m crazy about, so maybe it’s a bit crazy I keep struggling to find more. I’ve decided to attempt some stillness, remember what I love and have a little rendezvous with those. After all, I already searched and found them. Now doesn’t it seem so fabulously simple?

One thing you definitely don’t have to search for is a way to chat with Nina! At [email protected].