For some, college is the first time that you get to be away from home for a long period of time. Because of this, a lot of students get homesick. Throughout college, you may find friends that go home every so often, or even some that leave every weekend. And it is totally okay and normal to want to see your family. In fact, it’s almost expected. Which is why a feeling of guilt and dread come over a select few of us when asked the question, “Are you ready to come home” and our answer isn’t as expected.
It’s not that we don’t like being home or seeing our families, contrary to what family members and friends might think. The thing is, we are having the time of our lives at college. College is the time to explore new things and grow as a person. It’s where you meet your forever friends and discover what you want to do with your life. College means freedom, and while it’s nice to revisit our hometowns and see old friends and family, there is a great big world to be explored. Of course we can’t wait to come home and share everything that the world has to offer. But each time we come home, we’ve changed a bit.
Our views have shifted and our minds have expanded a bit more. It can be difficult to try to fit back into the same mold you were in the last time you came home, especially when friends and family expect you to fit back into that mold. Oftentimes, we outgrow our friendships. In a handful of years at college, you will leave a different person than the person you were on your first day of classes. You may not even have the same friends from the first day of classes.
I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to never want to go home, to never want to stop improving, and to never want to hinder exploration. You pay a lot of money to be where you’re at, so why not make the most of it and stay at school as much as possible? Life’s greatest lessons aren’t learned from sitting in your parent’s house. Being at home is comforting and it’s nice to revisit the past but don’t be afraid to grow. Reaching for the stars requires travelling into space. Next time someone asks you if you’re excited to go home, proudly tell them that you aren’t and don’t feel guilty about disappointing anyone with your answer. There’s a whole world to see and so much to learn.
Stay hungry, my friends.
