I think the thing I've finally come to appreciate most about going to college out-of-state is that I have the chance to come home. My freshman year of college I did not want to leave the familiarity of my room at home for the strangeness of a dorm and roommates. My sophomore and junior years of college, I barely came home aside from holiday breaks and occasional doctors appointments. Now, in the middle of senior year, I've been enjoying coming home more than ever.

Things have been stressful, to say the least. I've been steadily avoiding my thesis with the deadline fast approaching, I've been filling out forms for graduation, and I've been thinking about and applying for positions in the "real world" that I'll hopefully be accepted to post-grad. It's been a wild rollercoaster, and I hate rollercoasters.

I think home has always been a solace from school for me. Middle school was, surprise surprise, awful, and I always looked forward to stepping in the door, trying to pet my old dog who didn't like me very much, and laying on the couch and watching TV until my parents came home, and I had to pretend that I had been working on homework. High school was better, but being in my room at home meant being away from the stress and drama that seems built into everyone's high school experiences. Home, as a senior in college, now reminds me I have someplace to go where the experiences of senior year can't follow me. No one at home is pressuring me to finish my thesis (though I'm sure my parents might if I told them I still have 10 pages to write, oops), I don't have to worry about scheduling meetings with professors, I don't have to force myself out of bed to go to classes and because the best should always be saved for last, I have the best dog in the world at home and a pretty OK cat.

Now, whenever I'm on the Megabus, and I see the sign for Exit 14A, I am filled with that special kind of peace that can only come from knowing I am just a small amount of time away from my bed, my dog and my family.