1. I drink a lot more wine when I'm home.
At school it's all about going out to the bars or to random parties where you consume cheap beer and various mixed drinks. When I'm home I get to sit on my couch, relax, and drink bottles and bottles of wine with my mom while watching whatever our latest TV obsession is at the moment (it's Penny Dreadful in case anyone was wondering).
2. Family time.
This can be a great thing, or it can be an absolute atrocity. More family time means more opportunities to fight over unearthed hurt feelings or something someone did years ago that secretly really bothered another person but that person didn't say anything until right now. Sigh. Spending time with your family can also mean having really wonderful conversations and laughing like goons at the stupidest things. If your family is like mine, you have a healthy mixture of both of these things.
3. Homemade meals are the greatest thing ever.
I don't cook...at all. I think this is partly due to my laziness, but also because I just have no idea what I'm doing and I'm afraid of doing something wrong and setting the building on fire. My mom is a fantastic cook. Even when she is on a health kick she manages to make healthy food taste good (I think I should really be thanking Gwyneth Paltrow and her amazing cookbook It's All Good). However, she also knows it is necessary to order a good pizza every once in a while.
4. I get to pretend I'm a kid for a little longer.
When I'm home, I am my parent's child and I get to forget that I am actually a 21-year-old who is supposed to be ready to take on the adult world in one short year. All of the comforts of home ease the stress and anxiety I feel about becoming an adult. However, this is not to say that my parents don't try to use every opportunity and opening to badger me about where my life is going, what connections I should be talking to, and what my plans are for getting a job after college. These are my favorite conversations. Not.
5. I do more work at home than at school.
Sure, at school I write a ton of papers and study for exams, but when I'm home I have to do so much more. When I'm home my goal is to make as much money as possible before heading back to school in the fall. I babysit, I puppy-sit, I drive people places, etc. In addition to actual work, I have to do chores around the house. It's not like these chores are particularly tedious, but they are things that I just don't want to do until I am reminded that if I don't do them my mother will probably murder me. And that is way different than when I'm at school.
