We all love college for obvious reasons, and most of us wouldn't trade our "college experience" for anything. However, there's nothing quite like going home. There's countless reasons why going home is great, but here's a list of the most important for college students.
1. A full pantry.
Ugh. The best. There's nothing like coming home and seeing all the snacks that are constantly stocked in the pantry waiting to be eaten. We're all broke college students, and seeing this much free food all in one place is like a field day. Remember when this was a common thing?
2. Special meals.
If your parents are anything like mine, they're awesome and take you out to eat when you go home. These are always the best meals at my favorite restaurants and they may be what I look forward to the most.
3. Familiarity.
There's something strangely comforting about knowing where things are located in the Target by your house. You may have grown accustomed to your college town already, but I always going into autopilot when I'm home. You never need to put anything in "maps" on your phone, and you always know the best places to shop, or eat, or get coffee.
4. Feeling like an "adult...."
Admit it, you do too. Coming home back from college makes you feel like you're much older, more mature, and more experienced. It's nice to feel like you're doing something with your life (or at least seem like it from the outside).
5. ...But actually getting to act like your childhood self.
Being in your childhood home, you kind of assume your childhood role again. You're back with your parents, and don't have to do as many things for yourself that weekend. It's kind of nice to escape your "college duties" for the weekend sometimes (may they be social or academic, and maybe sometimes both).
6. Laying around.
Nothing's quite like coming home to your own bed/living room couch. Enough said.
7. Sleeping.
This goes hand-in-hand with 6., however, this is always one of the best parts of your weekend home. It's your time to regain the lost sleep from, ahem, studying...
8. "Getting your life together."
If you're anything like me, you go home when you really just feel like you've had a rough week and need a change of scenery. My weekends home are pretty much spent recuperating because college is hard, okay?
9. Laundry.
Even if you end up doing your own laundry at home, at least you don't have to wait until someone isn't using the machine. Hey, at home no one ever takes your stuff out of the washer/dryer because you forgot to go get them out!
10. Getting to see how your hometown is doing.
Okay, this can be great or kind of suck. It depends. It's super weird to go home and see that the world is going on without you (and people's lives didn't change all that much when you went to college), but it's cool to see how much where you're from evolves and changes. I always find it interesting to see what new restaurants and shops go in (by my house we just got a Pita Pit, score!), and it's fun to see the kids younger than you grow up.
11. Last, but probably most importantly, you get to see the friends and family you normally don't.
This is obviously the best part of going home. There's nothing like spending time with friends and family members you just couldn't bring to college when you moved in freshman year. All other things aside, this makes going home so much more "worth it" and keeps you coming back.
In the end, college is the best, but going home is therapeutic and sometimes just necessary. Everyone needs a break from "colleging" sometimes (it's a verb, okay?).
