Being back home for four weeks after spending the past four months at college was a weird experience. To be honest, I didn't expect to feel as ready to return to Syracuse as I did.

When break started, it was really comforting to sleep in my own bed, shower without shower shoes, and watch movies without having to wear headphones. I was content with being at home with my family. It wasn't until I finally saw my friends that I began to realize that I really missed Syracuse.

I've always been very close with my family and being away from them was the hardest part about college. My concept of home has always been where my family is. I realized for the first time though, eating Chinese at my dining room table with my best friends that we had each found a new place to call home.

Hearing about my friends' college experiences and sharing my own stories and memories like getting my usual at Insomnia with my roommate (always six M&M and six chocolate chunk), dancing my heart out to Dancing Queen at a party with my friends, and Ubering a bit too frequently up the Mount made me realize how much had changed. Though we were just as close, my high school friends and I were now living new lives apart from each other.

Now, sitting at my desk back at Day Hall, I've never felt more at home. The place that once seemed strange and unfamiliar now feels like a part of me. Today I went to class, did my own laundry, and returned to a space that I call my own, independent of my family and friends.

I'm ready for the rest of the second semester and everything it throws my way. I'm ready to embrace it all with an open mind and open heart.