Whenever you return home from college, there are almost always noticeable changes. These changes could be new houses, new stores, and new restaurants. However, more often than not, the biggest changes are noticed within yourself and those closest to you. You realize you have changed, other people have changed, and maybe being home just doesn’t feel like home anymore. It sometimes feels like you are now the outsider and just visiting. I know I noticed several changes and had some major realizations while at home for semester break. Here are just a few.
You realize how much you have changed.
Most likely, time away from college has changed you. Now, whether that change was good or bad is a different story. When you return home to the high school friends and memories, it becomes apparent just how much you have matured and grown up. Maybe you notice that the things that were so important to you just a year or two ago no longer hold a place of importance in your life. Maybe that is a good thing; maybe that is a bad thing— it’s up to you. You realize your priorities have changed. Maybe your top priority now is going out and having fun or maybe it’s focusing on yourself and your studies. Maybe your main goal is to become more spiritual; maybe that used to be your priority and, now, it isn’t. Whatever it is, it is almost guaranteed that you have changed in some way or another while away, and going home makes those changes noticeable to you (and maybe even those around you).
You realize how much those around you have changed.
In many cases, when you go home for semester break, everyone else is there, too— you know, those people you haven’t talked to since you graduated, the high school best friends who go to different colleges than you, and the people who stayed in your hometown. In the case of the inevitable run-ins with one or more of these categories of people, you notice their changes. The changes may be blatantly obvious, like new haircuts or colors, but, often, it’s internally. They may carry themselves in a different way or they may be happier more often. Maybe they retracted into themselves or came out of their shells. In any case, there is something and, after being away for a while, the transformation is more evident.
You realize you miss college and the life you have created there.
When you move to a new place with lots and lots of new people, you are basically starting over. Starting over and creating a new life is easier for some than others, depending on how many people you knew prior to the move. Most of the time, you are starting with a totally blank slate. You get to decide who you want to be friends with and what you want to be known for. You will make new friends who will become your college family; you will make countless memories, both good and bad. When away from both college and this newfound group of friends for an extended period of time, you realize how much you wish you could be back. You have changed, the people around you have changed, and things just aren’t the same. The jokes aren’t the same, and the favorite songs aren’t the same. Sometimes, you feel left out. Other times, the friends around you feel left out. Home is great, but, sometimes, home just doesn’t feel like home anymore...and that is OK.
