For a lot of young adults, college is the time to get away from home. We see college as an opportunity to grow and explore new parts of the world, experience things we couldn't at home. College is a time to be independent.

While all of this is true, it's just as important to come back home. As much as you might grow and change at college, it can be hard to see all of the progress you have slowly made in your time away. Coming home points out all of the ways yu have changed in your time away.

Being at home provides you with all of the comforts with which you grew up, things that were always provided in your life. In your time away, you made it without those comforts. You thrived without the close support of the family and friends with whom you grew up, without the familiarity of home. Coming home is the acknowledgment of all that you have done in your new experiences.

It's incredibly important to get away from home, even if "away" is just a short trip. The importance of being "away" is to secure your own independence, to release the safety net of home. Getting away from home allows for your independence to grow and coming back home proves just how much you have accomplished.

Returning home after your time away means being in the same old place but as a new person. You reunite with family and old friends and do the same things you have done before. In my time at home so far, I have been able to do these things. Being back home provided me with the same comfort it always has. Even though I am a very different person now than I was before I left for college, I still love and appreciate the things I cherish from home.

Being home also provided me with new perspective. For me, coming home is like a time out in the middle of a fast paced game. It's a time to review what has already happened, what has worked well and what still needs improvement. Without this time out, things could get hectic, moving too quickly. Coming home both allows you to appreciate all that you have done and prepare for the future.

When moving away from home, it's exciting to think of all of the new opportunities and experiences that will become available to you. But, in the midst of this excitement, it is important to remember the comfort of home that is always waiting for you.