Summer. It is what we look forward to the second that first snowflake falls. It is what we look forward to the second we get back from spring break. Summer has and will always have this amazing aura surrounding it.
Hot, lazy days by the pool, ice cold drinks, tan skin, having no obligations, hanging out with friends and just not having a care in the world. Summer is undoubtedly my absolute favorite season. And with only about one month left of the semester, everyone seems to already be sinking into the summer mindset.
However, leaving college is hard. You have been living on campus for the past 9 months and have gotten into such a steady routine. Yeah, you go home for breaks but because you only leave for a couple weeks at a time, it's not really long enough to break the routine.
Packing up and moving out of the place where you have made some of the best memories never gets any easier. Saying goodbye to all your friends certainly doesn't get any easier. Here are some of the reasons why leaving school to go home is a lot harder than it looks:
1. Leaving your roommate.
You have been living with this person for the whole school year. You may have had your ups and downs, but you have still made so many great memories with them. Whether it be ranting about annoying classes or creepy guys, or laughing together until your stomachs hurt.
All those nights you stayed up talking when you should have been sleeping, and all those nights you went out and recapped every little detail the next morning are just a couple reasons why living with them was great. It can be hard to leave all of that and go home, where you will have no one to talk to. Your own room will be great, but you're going to miss always having someone to talk to.
2. Leaving your friends.
Leaving your college friends is the worst part of going home. You have seen these people every single day for the past 9 months. You are most likely not from the same hometown, so the only way you will be able to see them this summer is making trips out to visit each other.
You have likely made all of your best college memories with them by your side. Although you are going to go home and be greeted by your amazing hometown friends, there's nothing like the people that have been experiencing college with you.
3. Leaving all the activities.
In college, you are constantly busy. You go from class to class, and activity to activity. At least for me, I am involved in activities ranging from clubs and volunteer work, to being a member in my sorority. All of these demand a lot of my time and as a result I am always running around.
However, I love it. I love having somewhere to be and people to see. Going home is weird because you have nothing to do. You wake up and have an empty day ahead of you. It is a wonderful change to not have any set schedule, but it can definitely be strange at first.
4. Home gets boring.
By the end of the spring semester, everyone is basically itching to go home. Finals are upon you, and all you want to do is finish up, head home, and relax.
However, after a couple weeks, you will get bored. You won't have any parties to go to on the weekends, and you won't have friends living next door to go hang out with. This is why it is important to get a job and keep busy, otherwise you're going to resort to watching boundless amounts of Netflix, which can get old pretty fast.
5. Leaving behind the independence.
College is amazing because you are completely independent. You have no parents nagging you to clean your room or do your homework. You also can do whatever you want whether it be staying out until the crack of dawn, or sleeping until 3 in the afternoon. Going home is hard because you are once again under your parents' roof, and that independence diminishes greatly.
Leaving college to go home is always bittersweet. But summer is also a time where we can truly kick back and just be carefree. Once you head back to school in the fall and are faced with exams and papers, you are going to be craving those summer days and nights all over again. So enjoy it, and know how lucky you are to have something that makes you so sad to leave.
