Out of place. Anxious. And extremely confused on how to act. Should she talk to the cashier as they bag her groceries? Where were all the Ma and Pop shops? She missed her parents. She wanted to go back home. 

A fresh college graduate moving 574 miles away from home with her partner. 

For art teacher Kris Brennan, it took over 15 years for Indiana to feel like home, compared to where she lived for over half her life. 

“I think it’s that we’re all coming from a different place, and we need to come together,” Brennan said, “but still celebrate who we are and what we are and what we bring to Southport and not forgetting who we are.”

But over the years, Brennan has learned to make Indiana feel like home, while still being able to be herself, without forgetting who she really is.

When she first moved here, Brennan always looked forward to being able to go back home to visit the place she grew up in, along with her parents. 

When Brennan first moved to Indiana from Rochester, New York, she would drive home every chance she could to see her family she yearned for and thought her kids were missing out on their family time. 

Meeting people helped her adjust to the new life here in Indiana.

Little by little, Brennan started making new friends, which became her second family. With holidays being spent and new traditions being made with her new friends, she finally started to feel at home.

“A home is more of a feeling than a place,” Brennan said. “So it’s where you feel comfortable, and where you feel welcome and where you can feel you can be your true self.”

With the help of her husband, John Brennan, the transition from states has been less stressful.

“Well, (she) loves nature, and we did the best we could to get out and explore what Indiana had to offer,” John Brennan said.

“Well, (she) loves nature, and we did the best we could to get out and explore what Indiana had to offer,” John Brennan said.

Even though Brennan started feeling more comfortable in Indiana, she still kept her New York customs. 

Brennan says some of her students find her as a “prickly” person. 

To Midwesterners, it is very common to have small talk at the cash register or wave politely at a neighbor. For people in the Northeast, it is typical to get the important things done first, then if they have extra time they can chit-chat afterwards. 

Brennan has slowly started to become used to Midwestern customs and has grown out of her New York ways. 

“Now I would say that this is more home for me in Indiana,” Brennan said. “When I go home, I feel out of place. I feel like I don’t belong there anymore.”