I'm at the school of my dreams, and every morning when I wake up in my dorm, I am happy to be here. However, on the weekends when I don't hear my dogs barking as they wake me up, I get sad. I miss coming downstairs and having my dad be all chirpy and my mom and I looking at each other like "This is why we hate mornings."
I get homesick a lot though. I grew up very close to my family. We had been through a lot which brought us closer together, so going away to college was something very difficult for me. I'm not like some people. I don't cry every day when I miss family. I've cried sometimes, but that's when I just really needed to be with my family.
I call my parents multiple times a day. My friends make fun of me for it. I guess I understand where they are coming from. I'm 18 almost 19, why do I have the need to call my mom when a class is canceled?
There are so many things about Penn State that I love. I love hearing the bell ring from Old Main, I love the area surrounding the campus, I love all of the people I've met here, I love football season, I love the school spirit, I love the opportunities and so many other things.
But there are also so many things that I love about home. I love waking up to my dogs barking and taking them for their morning walk, I love standing in the kitchen gossiping with my mom, I love waiting for my dad to come home so I can annoy him, I love helping my sister pick out outfits for school, I love when my brother asks to show me another character he made for his animation class, and so many other things.
There's always one point in my day where I think, "wow, I wish I was home." And that's not to say it's because I hate where I am, because I don't— at all. I just hate that I can't be with my family. It hit me last year during my senior year that it was my last year living at home for a full year, now I'm only home for the summer and on breaks. I feel like I'm missing out on so many things while I'm at school. My family does their best to include me, but it's not always possible.
I'm homesick a lot of my time here at college, but just because I am homesick, it doesn't mean I hate where I am. I love it here and I love the Penn State family I made here. I just wish my family lived in the same town as me instead of 2 hours away from me.