Unless you have been living under a rock, you are aware that we recently were given a wonderful few days off of classes to head back home for Thanksgiving break. Since returning to college post-break, I have had a lot of thoughts about what I learned over the span of five days. Here are my discoveries:

You will feel like a guest in your own home. For some people this can be a good or bad thing, but our former life of living at home under the same roof as our parents is over, and we have moved on to a new chapter. So when the time of the year comes that we are back in our old beds, as comforting as it is to be back, it is very temporary. Sunday will come, and we will be on our way back to our current lives. It is completely valid to miss home when we are away and to be excited when we are back, however, it can only last for so long until we must face the reality of growing up and that our lives will never be the same as we have known them to be for eighteen years.

People will change… a lot. As much as you think three months cannot change someone very much, you are wrong. College is unlike anything we have ever experienced before—the independence, freedom, people, and exposure to new ideals and beliefs can have a large impact on the character of your friends. In all honesty, you have probably changed just as much as the rest of them.

However, it will be as if you never left. Sure, you haven’t seen each other in three months, but you and your friends remember the last night you spent together as if it was yesterday. You might have three months of gossip to catch up on, but you will do so at all of your favorite places and with the comfort of knowing that these people have loved you relentlessly for years and will continue to do so. As much as you are all changing and evolving as you pursue different paths, you will always be connected when you are home and reunited.

You will realize how badly you miss homemade food. I love Gordon’s as much as the next person, but I also know that it will never compare to my dad’s spaghetti. Plus, it being Thanksgiving break, families whip out the best of the best in terms of their home cooked food to celebrate one of the best meals of the year. After a week back on cafeteria food, I can truly say I am counting down the days until I get to sit at our dining room table for another meal.

You will appreciate the slower lifestyle that being home provides. In college, we are constantly working on a timeline. Classes, homework, studying, orgs, jobs, and our social lives are crammed into each day—not to mention we need to fit sleep in at some point. Every minute is precious. Being home, without a care in the world, is extremely refreshing to college students. For the first time in three months, we do not have assignments due the next day and as much as you may miss your social life for a week, it is nice to slow down and appreciate the time that break provides.

You will love college even more! It was an amazing week filled with spending time with family, catching up with friends, being well fed, and finally getting some decent sleep, but you are so happy to get back to your life in college. You found yourself missing your roommates, your new friends, your usual routine, and you even found yourself missing your crappy college mattress in a weird way. You are glad to get back to the world where you are completely in control and don’t have to listen to your parents.

For now, you are back at school and the excitement of being back has probably worn off now that it has sunk in that finals are in two weeks. However, soon enough finals will be done, and you will be able to go through the confusing reality of going home when you return for a whole month of winter break.