Even when things change, home will always be home. Here's 10 things you realize when you visit home:

1. Everything has kept moving and changing

For some reason, moving away feels like everything you left behind should freeze like a paused movie and when you return, you can press play. But you realize quickly that it has been playing all along, and so many things have changed.

2. The city looks different

There are new buildings, new houses, new ice cream shops. It’s weird to see unfamiliar things on the streets you used to know like the back of your hand.

3. None of your friends are there

This is one of the saddest things about visiting home. Everyone has moved away, doing their thing and experiencing the world. It’s everything you had dreamed of for your futures, all those days spent wondering what moving away would be like and where we’d all go.

I’m so proud of all of my friends and the different ventures they’re on, but coming home and knowing they aren’t 5 minutes away makes the visit a little sad.

4. There’s nothing like doing nothing with your mom

You aren’t a tourist and you don’t need to spend all day exploring the town. (Doing nothing is sometimes more fun anyways.) Watching shows and drinking coffee with your mom all day is a luxury you don’t realize how much you’ve missed. You take for granted the familiarity and friendship you have with your family.

5. Nostalgia is real

You have a memory associated on almost every street corner. Your friends' houses, the beaches, the coffee shops. You realize that there’s no going back to those times and nostalgia lingers the whole trip.

6. There’s nothing to do

You wonder what you even did when you lived here.

7. The only thing that feels like home is your family

You’ve made a home and established yourself somewhere else, and the thing that keeps your hometown feeling like home is your family.

8. You’ve grown up and changed more than you thought

Coming back to where you grew up makes you think about who you were before you moved. It’s hard to see how much you’ve changed until you’re home and realize you’re nothing like the who you used to be. You’ve grown up, gotten life experience, and become more of the adult you want to be.

9. You remember your roots

As a child, you can’t choose where you live, and no matter where you go once you grow up, your roots remain the same. You know which restaurant has the best of whatever you’re craving, you know which sports teams win and what high schools are rivals, you know the town Christmas traditions, who has the best Halloween decorations, and all of the hidden hiking trails.

10. No matter how long you’re away, home is always home

You’re a part of the town, and the town is part of you. No matter what, you know you can always visit and find everything that means home.