Homesickness is part of the whole college experience and it's not too rare to hear freshman complain about how much they miss their parents, friends, and pets. However, there are so many little things that freshman will get homesick about and they didn't even realize what they had until it was gone.
1. Private bathrooms.
No matter what time it is or where I am, there's always at least two other people in the same bathroom as me. Normally, I wouldn't mind, but they always manage to make awkward eye contact through the crack of the stall. Just once, it would be nice to be in a bathroom that doesn't feature a staring contest.
2. Local Starbucks.
If you're a frequent coffee shop visitor (such as myself) then you get to know the other coffee shop goers as well. Eventually you can never go to your local Starbucks without seeing a familiar face, and you know the baristas to the point where you have a favorite (my favorite barista is Claire). Sadly, it's hard to find this in college because the local Starbucks is more of grab-n-go than a coffee shop.
3. Going to bed early.
Going to bed before midnight is almost unheard of in college, unless you make a real attempt (a real attempt would consist of doing homework through dinner and then going straight to bed). Even when I'm done with homework, my internal clock doesn't let me fall asleep until 12:30 at the earliest. I miss the high school days when I was out before 11 on a Wednesday. RIP.
4. Being bored.
It's a weird thing to miss, but you rarely have down time in college where you wonder what you'll do. There's always something going on campus and you have dozens of friends that live right down the hall from you. It's hard to have a lazy day in college where you do nothing, because there's always places to be and people to see.
5. Sunday pro football games.
You would think that being on a heavily football-oriented campus, I would have my football fix but I really miss sitting down every Sunday to watch the Packers with my dad. If you're a pro football fan and you're out of state, chances are they will not have the game on your local cable channels. As much as I love the Packers, putting effort to find the games (off-campus or on) and giving up valuable homework hours is not worth it.
6. Driving.
There's nothing I miss more than rolling down the windows and blasting my favorite songs from the aux cord. Walking everyday starts to lose its novelty and I really miss driving around my hometown.
7. Your hometown gym.
I never thought that I would miss my local gym, but it was where I grew comfortable with working out. Having a free gym on campus is nice, but not knowing how to work all the new machines can be seriously intimidating. Plus, it's not fun when your new friends realize how sweaty you can get.
However, despite all the little things that you miss in college, it's still totally worth it.
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