Everyone looks forward to summer break, that is until you get home. Your dreams of laying on a white sand beach quickly fade and the realism that is summer kicks in. Chores, curfews and feuds with your siblings become all to real and before you know it the white sand beach you once dreamed of laying on becomes a pile of your white laundry that you have neglected to wash.
1. Chores. Constant chores.
Sure, it’s nice to have a clean house. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy coming home to a freshly made bed with crisp clean sheets on them? And a room that doesn’t smell like socks and pizza? Well that’s a bonus too! However, the constant nagging in your ear from your mother telling you to do the dishes isn’t exactly how you pictured your “lay in bed all summer binge watching New Girl” vacation.
2. Actually having a curfew again.
One of the nicest perks about being in college is not having to answer to anybody but yourself. You have complete free will on where you go, who you go with, and when you will be back. If you want to go get Taco Bell at 3 a.m., why the heck not! Unfortunately, this changes when you come home. Although a Doritos Loco Taco sounds appealing at 3 a.m., your parents might not enjoy the late fast food fiesta.
3. Living under the same roof as your siblings.
Oh yeah, it’s all fun and games for the first few days. You spend them catching up, gossiping, and exchanging funny stories. However the façade of politeness quickly ends and before you know it you’re pulling each other’s hair out over who gets the last pizza roll in the bag.
4. Judgement.
In college it is completely acceptable to go three days without washing your hair, putting on real pants or for that matter even getting out of bed. And if you want to spend eight hours binging a new series on Netflix, you go ahead! In fact, your roommate will probably join you. Unfortunately, your parents do not find Netflix to be as productive of a hobby as you do. Apparently laying on the couch all day, pants-less with Cheetos in your hair isn’t as enduring as your roommate found it.
5. Snacks. Snacks everywhere!
In college spending twenty dollars on groceries seems wildly unreasonable. I mean come on, if you only have thirty dollars in your account and you spend twenty on groceries, how are you expected to maintain a social life for the rest of the week? Luckily at home it’s a different story. Instead of spending your own money, you can add anything to a list of groceries and have it magically appear in your pantry the following week. What a glorious feeling it is to have a pantry stocked with Poptarts, Cheezits, and Gushers!
6. Clean, FREE laundry.
Ahh, one of, if not the most rewarding perks of being home; getting you laundry done. Although dragging your laundry down four flights of stairs in a bag that feels like it might rip seems like an effective workout, it is a complete hassle. Not to mention you have to wait next to the laundry room for two hours for your favorite top to get clean or else someone might “accidentally” take it. Doing your laundry in college sucks and detergent isn’t cheap. But at home the laundry room and free detergent are just several feet away from your overflowing hamper.
7. Going on dates with your parents.
It’s a Friday night and you’re completely broke. All of your friends are busy and it seems that your best option is to catch up on that summer school assignment you’ve continuously pushed off. That is until you hear your parents are going out to eat. Not only will they pay for you, but you can go in a t-shirt and Nike shorts because they don’t care what you look like. It’s a win-win!
