For me coming home from college has been a confusing time. When I came home for the first time everything just kind of felt off. My bed didn’t really feel like my bed anymore. My room didn’t really feel like my room anymore. I felt like a stranger living in what was supposed to be my own home.

As freshmen, we set out in August to start a life on our own in a whole new environment with completely different people all by ourselves. We’ve had this desire to prove to ourselves that we could actually manage to live on our own. And I’m not just talking about washing our own clothes, washing our dishes, cooking our own food, and being a responsible adult.

I’m talking about managing our own time. I’m talking about building relationships and making friends. I’m talking about just actually living while still actually being a responsible adult.

When going away to college you are given this opportunity to recreate yourself and be who you truly are. To be who you actually want to be. So it’s completely reasonable for when you come back to what used to be home, for it not to feel like home anymore.

We have built this entirely different life in this entirely different place and they’re completely different. And I’m sure the person you are at home isn’t the same person you are in your college town because it's your town.

Sure, you have this town that you grew up in, that everybody knows you and your whole life story in. But you also have this town that you are growing in, that you are thriving in.

Your childhood home may not have the same welcoming feeling to it, but that’s OK. Because you are building a life and you can make home wherever you truly want to be.

When you take a step back and realize how much we’ve actually accomplished in such a short time is almost too overwhelming. We actually did it.

The excitement and stress of actually finishing our first semester of college is enough in its own, but to throw in the fact that we have started our lives and are blossoming to our full potential, is something to be proud of.