College has a funny way of showing us just how different life is outside of "home". We have had things the same way our whole lives, and when those things are no longer at our finger tips all the time, it allows us to see just how much we take for granted.

1. Good Home-Cooked Meals

Living in a dorm room really limits your options on good meals. Pizza from your cafeteria will get real old after a week, and you start to see that there is nothing even close to your food from home. Good home-cooked meals are hard to come by in college, and that's why its important to take advantage of them every chance you can get.

2. Access To A Clean Washing Machine 24/7

First off, all of us tend to take clean laundry for granted when it all becomes dirty. College lets us see that laundry really does not wash itself... and then you have to fight for a washing machine, and you get super lucky if the machine does not have someone's left over sock in it.

3. Comfortable Beds

There really is nothing like your own bed. Even when you go on vacation, you miss having your own bed. Dorm beds are awkwardly tall and long... and the mattresses really are not that comfortable no matter how thick of a mattress pad you put on them.

4. Family

This one really is a no brainer. We are all guilty of taking family for granted, and college has a huge way of opening our eyes to just how much we did take our family for granted. We go from seeing them and depending on them every day, to suddenly not seeing them but once a month or so if we are lucky.

5. Pets

Pets really are a part of the family, and colleges will usually only allow you to have a fish if you are lucky. We never realize how much one on one time we spend cuddling with our pets until they are not there anymore.

6. Your Own Bathroom

Many of us have never had to share a bathroom with anyone until you move to college... and if you have had to share one before, it was with someone you know, not a total stranger. So now not only do you have share a bathroom, that really is not your own, but you also have to share it with strangers.

7. Having Someone To Take Care Of You When You Are Sick

Let's be honest... nobody really likes being sick. I mean yes, you get a day off of work or school (maybe), but then when you're at college, you miss a ton of material in those classes that you can't go to. On top of that, you actually have to take care of yourself. Mom is not there to cook you your favorite soup, make sure you have enough medicine, or even ride with you to the doctor. You are all on your own.

8. Knowing Everyone In Your Class

For many of us, college is the first time we leave our hometown. We often forget that college really is not like high school until we are put in that drastically different environment. Many of us will not go to a small school, and we will not know everyone in our class. Some days you will pass someone in the hall and never see them again.

9. Not Having Random Fire Alarms

Well the only reason your fire alarm should be going off at home is if there is a real actual fire. It never fails that there will be a random fire alarm that will wake you up for no reason once you move to college. It may be burnt Ramen, a flat iron left on, or oh, hey it may just be a test.

10. Hometown Favorites

If you do not go to college in your hometown, you really do see just how much you take for granted, and one of those things are your hometown staple restaurant, traditions, etc. Nothing will compare to these, no matter how much your friends tell you how good your college town restaurants are. They just aren't like home.