"So where are you going this weekend?" my friend asked me casually on the walk from Human Development to our sorority lunch.

"I'm actually staying here."

"You're not going home?"

"No, it's kind of far from here, so going home isn't really something I can do for just a weekend."

My friend nodded and we continued on with the conversation, but it was not the first time (nor would it be the last) that I had answered that question. With Labor Day fast approaching and the thought of a long weekend dancing through our heads (Hallelujah), many were leaving UA to go to Dallas, Auburn and wherever "home" may be.

With the campus emptied out, people like me were left to my own devices as I watched many of my in- or near-state friends return home to their families and friends, as I sat in my empty dorm room.

It was the first time I had ever felt a sense of helplessness in terms of doing what I wanted to. I didn't want to go home because I felt homesick; in fact, I was doing great adjusting to the new constraints of college life. It was something that I wanted to do simply because I couldn't. There was no feasible way to pack up a car (if I had one to begin with) and drive 12+ hours home just to stay for a day and go right back down. It was the first time I had felt the reality of what I had done to myself for the next four years: put a LOT of distance between myself and home. So I was left to cope.

Don't let me fool you with sad words, though. I am still incredibly happy at UA, and my weekend was spent with the wonderful friends and bit of family I had left on campus, shortly followed by a massive exchange of stories with those who had left. It was simply the first time I realized what being 13 hours away was truly going to be like.

So if you pick a school like I did, be warned. The consequences of your decision might not hit you when you expect them. You could be doing great when you realize what it means to be so far away, and you might still be when you figure it out. Regardless, it's a real change that's going to impact you more than you thought, that I can guarantee. So when the time comes, don't panic. Simply take that little bit of time to yourself to look around and realize that home is where the heart is; and, if your heart is with you at your amazing school, you have nothing to worry about.