It feels weird being back in your hometown. Nothing has changed, but college has changed you. Your home starts to feel so foreign. Maybe it is due to you having to live out of a suitcase or maybe it is because you just simply grew out of your home. I don’t think anyone else could understand except other college students.

We are used to being independent back in college, we are used to being an adult. Yet as soon as we arrive back home, our parents tend to treat us as children. Frankly I think the reason that happens is because they miss us (their babies), but parents need to understand we can take care of ourselves just fine. Back in college we are used to coming back to our dorms at a late hour and never having to think twice about checking the time. However, as soon as we come back home we are not used to having to ask for permission and having a curfew again. This is all very confusing and weird; it is like we are living two lives and I have had enough of it. Do not get me wrong: I have missed my family dearly and home cooked meals, but being back home is just a reminder of why I ever wanted to leave in the first place. I need to grow as an adult and I cannot do that if my family still treats me as a child.

Reuniting with old high school and childhood friends is also weird. Either they are the same and you have changed or they are very different and you are the same person you used to be. There’s awkwardness in the air when you start rambling on about stories that involve your new university friends who they know nothing about. Or when your friends start laughing about an inside joke you weren’t there for, so you just awkwardly laugh. I had a vision that my friends and I would be best friends forever and that college would never get in the way of that. On the other hand, sometimes you just do not know how to keep the friendship going. Although, some are very blessed with having reunions with best friends that feel like you never left. They want to know about every detail on every college adventure and you want to know the true gossip of what has changed and what’s different in the place you used to call home. Nonetheless, all friendships are worth fighting for; both sides have to put in effort in order to having the friendship move on during your years at college.

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like they are staying at a hotel in their own home? We are all living out of a suitcase and that is because we are simply just lazy to place everything into our closets. Home now feels so different, even though everything is the same. Reality is that we have changed a lot during our first semester in college, which is completely okay, but our hometown is just not ready to accept our new selves in. Our family and friends are just not ready to meet a new version of ourselves, it will take time.

All I do know is I have taken my dorm and my college friends for granted. I do miss them and college very much so, it is just aggravating how I feel like a stranger in my own home. As long as you have yourself, you will get through the break! Enjoy the holidays.