Normally, you would assume that when you go off to college you wouldn't really miss home. Going off to college is a big leap for freedom in an 18 year-old's life. When I left after I graduated, I couldn't wait to set off on this new adventure in my life and I didn't really think that I would miss home too much. I went on my merry way and started enjoying my life in the western Carolina mountains. I would come home for breaks here and there, but wasn't necessarily home for long periods of time. Then I was home for the whole summer after my sophomore year. At this point, I missed my life at school, I was sick of my summer job, and ultimately just missed my friends and my independent life there.

Of course I loved being home and around my family and friends here, but it isn't the same as being on your own. I couldn't wait to get back to school and start my junior year. By the time you enter junior year, however, you don't think that you would get very homesick, but I was wrong. I wasn't able to come home for a couple months and I genuinely started missing my family like crazy. I missed being home and seeing everyone and just experiencing life at home. I missed baking things at home with my mom, I missed bonfires in the backyard with the family, and just missed the comfort of my home overall.

Homesickness is real, even when you're 20 and into your junior year of college. Don't take your family and being at home for granted because you might end up being five hours away and start to miss them. Family and friends are such an important part of a someone's life and it's completely normal to miss them. You may have an amazing life in the new place you have been living in, but it's just human nature if you get homesick sometimes.