When I first went off to college, I was so happy. I was two hours away and thank goodness, because I wanted freedom. I wanted to be away and experience all that the college life had to offer. But once my second semester started, I found myself becoming home-sick and I started coming home every weekend.

Throughout my first year of college I made some wonderful friends and I adjusted to the adulting life pretty well. But the cafeteria food made me realize there's nothing like a good home-cooked meal from your Grandma. The communal bathrooms made me miss my own bathroom. My dorm room made me miss the comforts of my own bedroom. The crappy wifi made me miss my home wifi. The list goes on and on. College is great, but sometimes you just need your family and hometown.

I am a creature of habit, and being in a new college town is not conducive to my habitualness. Even though there is no night life whatsoever in my hometown, I find it to be more exciting than my little college town some nights. At home I know that the main hangout spots are Walmart, Sonic, and Waffle House. But at school if you want something to do at night, basically your only option is to go out and party. I tried partying, but that just wasn't the life for me. I found that going home every weekend and attending my home church to be way more fun than waking up with a headache and upset stomach.

College also puts you through some tough situations and forces you to make adult life choices. It's definitely easier to make these decisions when you have some parental input. Typically they have more life experience and can help the most. So when tough decisions need to be made, I like to be with my family and at home because I know they will support with whatever I am going through.

There's also something about hometown friends. They know all about me and have been by my side through some tough times in my life, and there is nothing that can break that bond. There are only a handful of people that I have talked to since graduation, and those people I know I will be life-long friends with. I love going home and catching up with these people. It's fun to see how other people's lives are changing, and I'm excited for all of my friends' to figure out what they are going to do with their lives.

So basically, college is fun, yes. But being at home is also fun too. There are ups and downs to going to college, and getting used to a new town is definitely an adjustment. But don't forget where you came from and don't forget the wonderful things about home. I took a lot of things for granted such as hugs from my mom, or sister jam sessions, but now that I'm away at college I don't take these little things for granted. So appreciate the time you are at home, because once you are in college, you don't really ever come home much.