For those of us who chose to go out of state for college, we all know that spending time at home changes drastically after you've been away for a bit. There are some things that will feel nostalgic — driving down the streets of your hometown, passing all of the places that remind you of your high school years — and then there are those few things that are the absolute worst, like having no one but your high school classmates within a 50 mile radius.
Time can change a lot of factors about what it means to be home and what it means to be away, places and spaces can feel nothing like they once did, but then again, some things can feel like you never left.
So, whether you're an out of state student who is just 30 minutes away, or someone who is a three hour flight away, I'm sure you'll relate to all of these things as we look forward to heading home for the upcoming holiday breaks:
1. People understanding the words/phrases/slang you use.
2. Reuniting with all of your favorite restaurants and food in general.
3. Seeing your family/pets that you haven't seen in far too long.
4. Being back in weather that you know how to dress for.
5. Having people call you by beloved and forgotten childhood nicknames.
6. Not having to zone out of conversations between in state students that you understand nothing about.
7. Returning to the land of the greatest sports teams ever. Even if they have a terrible track record, they're your home teams and you love them.
8. Being surrounded by people with like-views and not having to worry that you're out of state/region comments will spark controversy.
9. You get to catch up on all of the events that happened while you were away.
10. There's no need to ask for directions, you actually know where you're going.
11. You're not constantly being caught off guard by people's accents and strange ways of saying certain words. Cah? You mean car?
12. You finally get to see the best friends you've kept through the years, but had to leave when you all left for school.
13. Every emotion is heightened about your arrival because you rarely get to go home.
14. You get to feel the love of home again and realize that even though school is everything you could ask for, there's nothing quite like home.
