There’s nothing like being at college for months at a time to make you realize how much you miss being home. While you don’t want to leave your school friends and you may even cry a little when you have to, there are quite a few perks to being home from school for a month.
1. Home cooking.
Food at college sucks; let’s get that out of the way first. I’m not sure how long I can survive with dining hall bagels and mass-produced pizza. As soon as I get home for winter break, I can be guaranteed a home-cooked meal that I’ll actually enjoy eating and utensils that are unquestionably clean. As winter break comes to an end, the idea of dining hall food leaves me eating at home for as many meals as I possibly can.
2. Driving.
One of the first things I do as soon as I get home from school is go pick up my friends and truly appreciate my car. While it may take a few minutes to get adjusted to driving for the first time in a while, I always warm up to my car in no time. Being away makes me truly appreciate the access to the car I have while I’m living at home.
3. A comfortable bed.
No matter how thick the mattress pad is on my extra long twin bed at school, I can’t get enough of my home bed. The amount of time I spend in bed at home can be mistaken for as laziness, but I really just missed my bed and my pillows and my blankets and everything that makes me feel at home.
4. A job.
For my freshman year at college, I was jobless and penniless. Coming home for winter break, I knew I needed to get back into the routine of having a job and making money. The idea of going back to school where I won’t be getting biweekly paychecks left me working as many hours as I’d be allowed.
5. Quiet.
I love my dorm and I love the people I share a hallway with. But sometimes, I really don’t want to hear that one choir girl singing at the top of her lungs at three in the morning. And sometimes the blasting rap at midnight when I have an eight o’clock class gets a little old. Shutting my door at home ensures I’ll have some quiet time and I won’t be disturbed by paper-thin walls.
6. Dishwashers.
The amount of money I have spent on disposable plates and cups is ridiculous. All because I’m far too lazy to make the walk all the way down the hallway to wash my plastic dishes in the sink. Though I have finally invested in some sponges and dish soap, I’ll always appreciate being able to rinse my plate and put it right into the dishwasher.
7. Pets.
As soon as I walk in the door for winter break, I’m on the floor playing with my dog. All I want to do is cuddle with him and make up for all of our lost time. Being at school, I don’t have my dog to go play with when I get a little stressed or just need to calm down. There’s nothing like cuddling with my dog to put me in a good mood.
8. Laundry that won’t get stolen.
There’s nothing more irritating than going down to the laundry room at school to switch from washer to dryer and finding that someone else has decided to make some of your clothes their own. I’ve actually sat in the laundry room for two hours to make sure all of my belongings are properly accounted for. Being home, I can do my own laundry and at my own convenience and not have to worry that my brother might steal some of my clothes.
9. Home friends.
My friends at school are amazing, don’t get me wrong. But there’s nothing like coming home and spending hours with some of the people who know me better than anyone. I’ll never get sick of leaving my front door unlocked so my friends can come in and out as they please. We can stay up until three in the morning doing absolutely nothing and not have to worry about being tired for class in the morning.
10. Mindlessness.
No studying. No cramming. No tests. We may have a job, maybe even two, but at least we don’t have to go to classes and making sure we’re always paying attention to get our money's worth. Being home makes me seriously appreciate not having a million different responsibilities to take care of.
11. Family.
At the end of the day, I’ll always miss my family whenever I go to school. There’s nothing like coming home and catching up with my family while we eat home-cooked food together. I’ll never take them for granted and I’ll always love every second we spend together.
