When applying to college, we all dream of going far away and seeing the rest of the country, or at least I did. At first, I dreaded going to college in my state and had no desire to apply to any schools relatively close to me. I went to camp for six years, and never thought in a million years I would get homesick during college. But what I didn't realize is that camp is only nine weeks and I went home a few times during those weeks, but college is nine months. And now, being over a thousand miles from home, it’s not like I can get in my car and do a quick drive if I forgot a t-shirt or something back at home.
College is supposed to be a time full of new experiences, and being away from home is one of them. It’s good to be independent and make your own decisions and have experiences apart from the comfort of your hometown. But when you're in a slump, it’s easy to miss that comfort. Sometimes I catch myself missing my favorite food places at home (but with In-n-Out and sushi, how could you not), my parents, having my own room, and even missing my high school--which I never ever ever thought I would miss. What I’m getting at I guess is that you don't expect to miss the things you think you're so ready to leave. I remember all the times in high school when I was so ready to get out of the bubble of my town and wanted to leave everything. Now I wish I cherished those drives home from school and family dinners at my favorite sushi spot where the waiters knew my order.
In the wise words of the beautiful and wise Joni Mitchell, “You don't know what you've got till its gone.” These words go for college too, though; I know after probably three days at home, I'm going to miss the freedom and being able to make my own schedule that I had at college. College is supposed to be your “home away from home,” and the place where you grow and become an adult and find yourself and all that jazz. It’s important at one point in your life to distance yourself from your parents and figure out what you want to do. There’s no other time when you're only job is to learn about things you care about and meet people from across the country and even the world. I, and I think a lot of other college students as well, need to appreciate the time we have while in college. There are many obstacles getting in the way of that--midterms, papers due, meetings, clubs, still having a social life--but at the end of the day it’s important to make the best of where you are at. There are always going to be bad days. We all have them, but we have to remember to have good ones too--and you cant do that if you're thinking about how much you miss home. It’s important to appreciate the good days and not dwell on the bad ones.
