That awkward moment when you're talking your parents and you call your dorm home. I'm sure many college students are just getting back from break and for some students it's the first time they've been home since they started college. Needless to say, a lot has changed in the last few months for those who started out at their university. Besides the fact the kids moved out of the house they were also given an opportunity to be completely responsible for themselves. This responsibility gives students the option to decide everything from if they go to class to if they should stay out till 4 o'clock in the morning. Obviously this is incredibly exciting for kids who are making the transition to young adults. It's during this time that a lot of young adults start to consider their university home.
University living is like a support system that includes a bunch of friends who are always there to help each other. Suddenly, students are emerged in an environment where their friends are constantly around them and fun is suddenly walking distance from wherever they are. For students, having friends around them at all times is like having a nonstop support system. The university living allows young adults to bond over schoolwork, hobbies, and simple commonalities. When a student needs a shoulder to cry on, their best friend is right across the hall. When a student needs an outfit to borrow, their third-floor friend has it covered. When a student is in desperate need of help on the homework, therefore, I am in the study lounge ready to explain it from start to finish. When there's so many positive aspects to the university living you can't help but call it home because it's a place you feel comfortable.
When students move to university this is often the first time in their lives that they have been given the opportunity to have their own space that their parents aren't constantly reminding them that they "don't own." For me, having my own space has given me something to take care of. I suddenly want my room to look nice and be decorated well because for the first time ever it is completely up to me because this space is mine and mine alone. When a person puts so much work into how it stays looks and one person puts so much work into making a space fit their needs that person is obviously going to start considering space their home because of all the work they put into it.
One of the most important changes that occurs when young adults reach university is a new opportunity to make decisions for one self. Students can decide if they go to class and if they do the work for certain classes. Students can decide if they go party every night and if they stay up until four in the morning. Students can decide where they go and who they go away and suddenly they don't have their parents asking them "who all is going" and to "check in" all the time. Granted this responsibility doesn't always end well but it is always a learning experience. This responsibility allows students to make their university their space and make their university experience what they want to be. That is what makes their university seem more like home.
So if over break you heard your student called their university home or you are the student that called university home, don't worry. Students are finally getting the opportunity to come into themselves through a process of learning and growing and they're having so much fun doing it. You can expect them to not think that there university campus is a little home away from home where they can start their new lives. Here's to the students who I have found a new new home away from home in their university campus. I can only imagine the amazing time you're having in college.
