Most people are typically pretty happy when the last week of each semester, finals week, finally ends and they get to go home. I’m no different, getting to see my family again and going back to living at home is nice. I go back to eating home cooked meals and living under the generous care of my family. However, I find that going back home can also sometimes be a bit hard because after being away at college for several months, living independently and making my own decisions, returning home suddenly brings me back to when I lived there all year long and I didn’t have the luxury of always making my own decisions.

Don’t get me wrong, my parents are by no means strict and don’t ask much of me. For the most part, I still do as I please and living at home doesn’t really bother me. However, from time to time my parents will say something that I’m no longer used to hearing, whether it’s asking me to not go to bed after 1 or 2 a.m or eating with the family at designated hours and not snacking in between meals. What I’m asked to do is completely reasonable, however, as a college student that’s used to staying up late and snacking when I’m hungry, I realize when I’m back home how much I really miss living independently and making all of my own decisions.

I don’t want to come off sounding unreasonable or make it sound like because I live away at college I’m suddenly completely independent and mature. I know that I’m not. I still live under a roof which was paid for by my parents. I still eat meals that are prepared for me and have a ton of friendly faces living around me, ready to support or help me if I ever need it. Nonetheless, living away at school is a lot different than living at home where I potentially have more responsibilities. Although I love coming home and being on break, I always find myself anxious to return back to school after a couple of weeks so that I can once again be independent and make all of my own decisions.