It’s about that time again—another heaven-sent break from college. If you're like me, you didn't go home after Christmas break because a whole month back was literally just too much. January through March was a much-needed break away from your dysfunctional family. Well, three whole months away from your hometown puts things into perceptive and nothing is the same anymore. The family seems different, your home feels foreign, and driving through your hometown is as weird as it can get. Here are some signs that you don't go home enough.
1. As you approach your house, your key is nowhere to be found.
You search all over your car until you find it stuffed in your wallet. Not to mention that every time you go to unlock your front door or P.O. box, you automatically try to use your dorm key.
2. Everyone's house has a certain smell and, finally, you can now smell yours.
When you enter your home, it doesn't smell odorless anymore now. It has a certain smell that you can't even describe. It's sad that your home is like any other house now.
3. Parking somewhere else.
As soon as you arrive home, the carport is free, so why not snag it? But then again, is it appropriate to park in a spot that's technically not yours anymore? Instead, you just park in the grass so you won't cause any confusion.
4. Asking before you eat.
You've been on the road all day and you're starving, but the only food in the house is your father's and you don't want to step on his toes, so you eat it anyways, but ask first.
5. When everything your parents do bothers you.
Even though you've only gotten the opportunity to talk to your parents over the phone in the last three months and you should be happy to see them, that doesn't stop everything they do from bothering you.
6. Suddenly loving leftovers.
I remember when all I ever wanted to do was eat out when I lived home, but now a home-cooked meal feels like the biggest blessing. Those leftovers you hated a long time ago are heaven now.
7. Not recognizing as many things in your hometown.
The worst part about not going home until mandatory breaks in college is nothing looks or feels the same anymore in your town. Everything looks dark and depressing, along with the fact that the traffic is slower and so dank. The buildings are different colors and some are rundown now, or maybe they were always, but you just didn't notice because you saw them all the time.
Most of all, it's weird knowing that one day most of us won't come back to our hometowns on breaks. Instead, we will stay in our college towns until holidays. After that, we will find a new home and then these towns will just be memories that we visit every so often.
