As college students, it's easy to be so focused on everything that's going on at school that we forget about where we came from. While we're so busy with classes, various clubs, and everything else that occupies our time, the places that helped shape us slip our minds. Only when it comes time for that weekend at home or break do we make the journey to our hometowns and it all comes rushing back. Spending the majority of my childhood in the same place was a valuable thing; I may not have realized it at the time, but it's true.

While I was growing up in a suburban town, it was frequent that I heard the complaint of "this place is so boring, I can't wait to leave." These musings started for most in high school, and I'll admit that I felt the same way sometimes. We thought that since we hadn't grown up in as exciting a place as New York City, we were missing out on something. Come senior year, everyone had plans for after graduation and that final summer came and went quicker than expected. We were all so excited to leave and "start our lives" that those last months of officially living at home were probably not as appreciated as they should have been. That summer was wished away and then our lives were abruptly changed.

(via oliverheatcool.com)

College is great, don't get me wrong. The freedom we wished for is real and it's nice to be almost entirely in charge of myself. What it's made me realize though, is how lucky I am to have had the childhood that I did. I forget that sometimes when I get caught up with everything here, but when I get to go home, now I appreciate that the comfort of home should be valued.

While I'm home, I see how nice it is to be able to see my family every day. Things that got on my nerves that they did before (mostly) don't bother me as much. I'm so grateful to have had their support growing up, and it's taken being away to realize the extent of this. Besides that, when I get to go home, I'm able to see my friends that I don't see every day anymore. I remember again how lucky I am to have had such great people in my life through school and now.

The smaller things like the way my house smells when my mom lights candles or cooks and the feeling of driving around the roads I've driven a thousand times are things I think about now that I never would have before I was away at college. I now realize how cool our downtown area is and how much I love the little one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants.

(via lennar.com)

I know that it's natural to want to see new things and discover exciting and different places in life, but I see now how nice it is to have somewhere that will always be there for you. Being away at college has made me realize just how incredible it was to grow up where I did, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.