This year, I decided to go to school in a state that is 20 hours away from my own.

While I had already fell in love with every detail of Arizona (the state where my school is), I didn't foresee myself gaining a whole new appreciation for my home state as well. All year, I never got used to how amazing the mountains and desert and city life were, but I also gained a new admiration for the world waiting for me during Christmas and summer break.

I don't regret any move I made; instead, I think I would not have been able to reach the level of appreciation I now have for these things had I not gone away for the year. When you move around, you really learn to notice the differences in places and come to see what makes each unique. It's enabled me to find pleasure in the little things and cherish every moment I have in each.

Here's are a list of a few things I've come to appreciate more since moving far away:

1. Family

Hands down, family is the number one thing I have gained a new appreciation for after being away from them almost all year. There are so many little moments I took for granted with my family that once I realized I didn't have them any more, my heart ached for them. I think that, unlike with friends, we see family as unchanging and constant and so we often don't relish our time together. But after moving to a different state then them - missing holidays and birthdays and breakfasts - that all changed for me. After any time I was with them, I'd wished I'd cherished the moment and been more present, instead of just taking our time for granted because they're family.

2. Scenery

When you live the same place your whole life, you don't really notice much about the terrain or plants or wildlife. But when traveling or moving some place new, everything seems to be different. For me, different meant mountains and cactus and sand. I'd be in awe at the mountains every sunset, every hike. I'd have friends in Arizona talk about how beautiful this patch of trees or something is and be like "I've been surrounded by that my whole life!?" But the truth is that I hadn't recognized how green and fruitful my home was until other people pointed it out. Coming back, green-canopy trail and grassy yards have a whole new charm to them than before, and I don't think that could have happened had I not gone out of state.

3. Buildings

After moving to a place more western than my old, historic town in the midwest, something that hit me as a surprise is the differences in buildings. Where I'm from, there are restaurants and businesses and houses date back to the 1800s. They are rich in character and history, not that I really appreciated any of that before I moved. In going far away, my new home was primarily new. Houses almost always made of stucco and old establishments are always less than 20 years in age. There's plenty to appreciate in both, but I think their differences are a fact that I would have overlooked in a heartbeat had I not experienced both.

4. My Bed

I think any college student or traveler, not just out-of-staters, experiences this one. After months and months, it feels like a different place. Coming home to your bed has a whole new comfort, luxury, and nostalgic feelings. It is, at least for me, the actually feeling of my big bed - which I used to know so well - as opposed to my dorm room mattress I'd gotten used to. It's a place just for me, where I'd gotten used to my room being a shared and social setting. In another sense, it's the years and years of growth and experiences and phases that all happened while I slept in that same place. When I come home from college, I sometimes have to restrict myself from spending hours laying around in my bed because thats the love I've gained for it.

5. Weather/Climate

Weather seems obvious when you are choosing to move somewhere, especially far away. For me, I never really become passive about the heat of Arizona. Even when it was miserable, I still think I had an appreciation for it. But that appreciation probably wouldn't have come without me moving from a place where weather was much more unpredictable and ever-changing. Where I'm from, there's rain and snow and ice and humidity and about everything in between. I'd grown up always hating winter and wanting to be some place warmer, so I knew that I would delight in differences. But as much as I wanted to get out of it, I have also come to find the pleasure in some of the weather differences, even the ones at home. I have come to find joy in the lazy, rainy days that I don't really get in Arizona. Or the beauty of white snow that never happens when I'm at school.

6. Social Media

When I moved to college, no longer was social media just what I did just to waste time or procrastinate (OK - it still was those things too). Social media became an outlet to stay in touch with all of the people from back home and keep them updated on life was like. It is pretty cool how you can still see someones face almost everyday despite the fact that your 20 hours away. I give social media a lot of heat, but it has its perks: Snapchat is a great way to keep connections alive and Facebook is a great way to keep far away people updated on your life.

7. Mail

One of my favorite things in school was receiving mail. Even if it was just a card, I think the act of sending mail deserves way more credit than it gets. It's personal and takes time and effort, thus showing the recipient how much you really care. Especially being so far away, being able to receive tangible mail was one of my favorite experiences.

8. Visitors

During college, I've had a lot of people come visit me. Bringing visitors is so cool because it enables you to see the place you live in a whole new light. When my friends or family traveled a long time to visit me, I'd want to make sure they really got a taste of what Arizona was like. Through this, I've got to experience a bunch of hikes, restaurants, and beauties of the states that I probably wouldn't have been able to if I was just by myself or with locals. Their excitement and new outlook on the place provides a whole new charm to the things you might have gotten used to. The same goes for having visitors to the place I grew up. Although their excitement and pleasure seems silly, it really makes me realize what a gift I have to live in.