Like most college students, I went home for Thanksgiving break. Nothing beats that; the food, the family, the friends from home, revisiting those (maybe) great, glory days of high school...except, something happens after the first day of being home.

Let me give you a play by play. You get home, you see your folks, your pets, your friends, teachers, etc...but then nighttime comes. You're in your own room by yourself for the first time in a few months. No friends to gossip with, no roommate to talk about your day with, just a television - if any.

Then the lonely kicks in. The utter and complete silence. It becomes almost depressing and you wonder what you would be doing with your friends, what would be going on the other floors, in the other dorms, would any events be happening now? You just don't know. Maybe it's a fear of missing out scenario, FOMO, for short. Who knows? I sure don't. All I know is that it's very common.

I was talking to one of my friends I met at college and she was telling me that all she could do was lay in bed all day because her house did that to her. At school, I would have never guessed this from her because of her outgoing personality. But she did feel alone, and that is kind of how I felt. Our homes sucked all the fun out of us like some sort of vacuum, and all that was left was boredom.

I bet if I were to survey 100 college students, more than 70% of them would say that yes, they feel this sense of loneliness at home. Following up on, "it's fun at first, but then the fun ends and my parents go to sleep and my siblings go do their own thing." Because in the end: life moves on without you, and that kind of sucks.

In the end, my fellow college students and other people who will read this, you're not alone. I think the best way to go through being home from your home away from home is to make a checklist because visual aids help. And on that checklist, make every day being home count. Visit your grandparent, go to your favorite restaurant, meet up with an old friend. All I will say is to make that list of things to do YOUR LIFE'S MISSION. This gives you motivation to actually do something productive. And it's true, that's how I survived the home away from home loneliness.

Look at it this way: at home, there are no school-related responsibilities so the world is your oyster, well, that is until you get to go back to school and see your friends again!