After spending a month away from home, I have finally come to terms with how I feel about being in a different state for college. I'd just like to share some of my thoughts, and hope that you can appreciate them if you too are going to school away from home!
1. You get to experience a new style of living, even if the changes are minor.
One of the most interesting things I've noticed about coming to Massachusetts from Connecticut definitely has to be like small dialect changes. For instance, my roommate and I were traveling to the next town over to run some errands, and to my knowledge, I pronounced the town correctly. Apparently, I didn't. Moral of the story, Peabody IS NOT pronounced like the vegetable followed by body.
2. You figure out how to improvise things that you could fix very easily if you went to school closer to home.
Day one of college: I realized after my parents left that I forgot to bring a sponge to wash dishes with. Because my parents are two hours away, I quickly thought of what I can do next to prevent a nasty accumulation of dirty dishes from happening. In case you were wondering, spare toothbrushes will function as a scrubby if need be. Just be sure to clean the bristles afterwards.
3. Speaking of parents....
The first time you see your parents after being away from them for so long will more than likely not end in bickering if you go out of state for school, or at least that was my experience. I really appreciated how being away from my parents allowed me to really live on my own, and they were never close enough to bug me all the time.
4. You will have a new appreciation for all the previously ANNOYING things that your family did back at home
When I woke up the Saturday morning after I got home from my first month at college, I couldn't believe that I was happy to hear my mother slamming, or rather, putting away the dishes at seven o'clock in the morning. I had clean dishes to eat off of, and a family caring enough to put the dishes away. To me, this meant that I was home.
5. You save money....like magic.
Okay, you have to stick with me here. In my experience, it is hard to get off campus without breaking the bank at my school. You can rent a ZipCar, you could catch an Uber, but lets be honest, that costs money that we, poor college kids, know we don't have. Suddenly, eating out at the coolest restaurant that you totally would go to if you had your car does't sound like the best idea. You'll probably just stick to dining hall food. You'll also probably thank yourself later.
6. You force yourself to meet new people
...and quickly discover that this is a beautiful thing. Now, this isn't to say that kids who stay in state for school won't meet new people, because they will. I'm just saying that going out of state will not allow you to fall back on the two best friends back at home that you know you already love. Instead, you have to get to know a brand new group of people with the chances being less likely that you will know someone already.
7. And now speaking of friends...
I can promise you, from recent experiences, that when you return home for the first time after being away from home and your friends that seeing them for that first time will be so much more special. You will feel like you haven't seen them in ages, but if you're with the right people, everything will just pick up where you all left off.
8. You will learn how to be a 'responsible adult', even if you thought you already were
I think I've learned much more because I couldn't just go home so easily if I was having a rough day or whatever. I had to learn to stick things out like an adult, even if I didn't like it.
9. You develop an appreciation for your hometown slang
When you're with your friends, you know that you all have those same few phrases that you use all the time. When you are around people who don't use that language, and then you use it for the first time and no one laughs, you'll understand how special your stupid phrases actually are.
10. Coming home will always be that much more special
Whether it be for a weekend, or a longer break, your eyes will immediately light up seeing all the people you haven't seen in a month. You will go home to see your dog that you loved to tease, but secretly missed. You will sit in your bed after a long day of travel and sigh because, no matter how much we may not want to admit it, there really is no place like home.
