Summer vacation is easily given the title of favorite college break when it comes to students. Students everywhere look forward to summer vacation for a numerous amount of reasons. Some of these reasons are, no classes to worry about, trips can finally be booked, it allows them to finally relax as well as enjoy quality time with friends and family. It is definitely difficult to get things like this done throughout the school year which is why summer vacation is hands down the best kind of vacation. Although it is a great time, all great things do come to an end, unfortunately. And, wow, did this end creep up on me like no other!
As I sit here thinking to myself about all the exciting adventures I’ve created these past three months, not having to deal with deadlines, papers, finals and all the great things associated with college, it suddenly hit me -- in about three weeks I’ll be back to pulling all-nighters, drinking more than two cups of coffee a day, wondering why my alarm clock didn’t go off, running to class, trying to stay awake in lecture hall and, of course, eating ramen noodles at 3 a.m. along with my friends who have also forgotten dining hall closes at 8 p.m. Isn’t it crazy? It’s almost as if the universe is playing a cruel joke on us and three months unknowingly became three weeks. Soon enough, I’ll be packing up my big, cozy, home bedroom and I’ll be moving back into my small dorm room where only pictures and room decor emit a sense of a home feeling. Although in about three weeks I will be out living on my own, this does not mean I will forget about the place I call home. This just means I am living at a home away from my very own.
Just because this isn’t the first time I’m leaving, does not make it any easier. In a way, leaving for college this time around is even a little more upsetting. Why? Leaving for school again is not a first anymore. There’s no more exciting freshmen year dorm shopping or milestones that come along with moving out for the first time. It’s become a usual thing. It has now become a routine. A routine is something that is fixed and regular -- it is not for a special reason, anymore. A routine is something one is familiar with and this familiarity emphasizes the idea that routines are a regular constant in one's life. This constant plays a significant role in the many chapters of life.
Moving out serves as one of the biggest chapters of my life. Chapters are filled with many pages, and the many pages of college can be characterized by the events one goes through and the emotions that come along with it. College is one big roller coaster of experiences and emotions and throughout it all, it is easy to forget that you have a place away from all the struggles you may be faced with. You have your real home -- the home that serves as your safe place, the home that serves as your throne and most importantly, the home that will never allow you to feel alone.
Living away from the place you've known, for who knows how long, is a big step in one’s life and it is safe to say that being homesick is natural. You’ll miss home cooked meals, you will miss the sibling bickering and most of all and you will miss the little room that you grew up in, as well as all the memories it may contain. Your dorm room will never be able to serve as the place you've come to call your own because, after all, there’s no place like home. Home, sweet, home.
