The pros of going away for college:

1. The feeling of coming home feels like an actual homecoming.

You have people and pets to hug, favorite spots to visit, and a familiar bed to flop in to. The first time I flew home from college it was Thanksgiving break. As my plane touched down and a song near and dear to my life at home playing in my ears, I teared up. The joy I feel when I get to come home is worth any minor discomfort or sadness I had while I was away.

2. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

The longer I spend away from my hometown, the more I miss it. I start to appreciate the simplicity of sitting down to dinner with my parents or going for a drive for no reason or laying in my bed with my dogs for hours on end watching Game of Thrones. I can’t do any of those things at college—I don’t have a car, or parents able to be seen any way other than FaceTime, and my dogs are 500 miles away. But I’ve never appreciated my hometown or the simple things that come with it more than I do now that I’ve left.

3. Freedom at last!

I’m not saying I had no freedom in high school or that my parents are some sort of tyrants who wouldn’t let me do what I want—I had more freedom than the average high school kid. But there is a new kind of freedom that comes along with being in college.

The kind of freedom that means I can stay up until three in the morning and not have to worry about a curfew or being reprimanded when I wake up at two in the afternoon the next day (Mom, if you’re reading this, I don’t do that often. I’m getting plenty of sleep. Don’t worry; I’m fine, pinky promise).

The kind of freedom that means I can hang out with friends 24/7 or order pizza at 11 p.m. The freedom that comes with college is the kind of freedom that I can do whatever you want because there’s technically no one around to stop me. It’s a weird kind of freedom, but it feels good.

4. Forced to step out

When you go to school eight hours from the house you’ve lived in your whole life, you’re kind of automatically forced to step out of your comfort zone. From the new people to the new experiences, to the new surroundings, it is stimulus overload. The good kind of overload though; the kind that forces you to go out and try new things.

The cons of going away for college:

1. Nobody knows what I’m talking about half the time.

I’m from Nebraska, and I go to school in Wisconsin, which in retrospect isn’t even that far. BUT I can’t tell you the number of times a Chicagoan or Wisconsinite has asked me where Nebraska is. It’s infuriating. I get that Nebraska is like a “forgotten state” and it’s not that relevant but seriously?

It’s not even that far! This is basic geography! And don’t even get me started on the number of times someone has looked at me like I’m crazy if I mention Runza or Village Inn.

2. Loneliness/homesickness

Being so far away from everything and everyone I’ve known my whole life gets lonely. No matter how many amazing friends I make (and trust me, I’ve made some incredible ones) there’s a different kind of love that can only be fulfilled by my family and friends that I’ve known since 7^th grade that can’t be found in college.

However, the absence of family and old friends does tend to make new friends more appreciated. Homesickness is inevitable. At the beginning for me, it wasn’t as bad, because I was so overwhelmed and invested in all of the new things happening around me. But as time goes on, fleeting moments of wanting nothing more than to be perched on the 25-year-old blue couch in my living room while my mom sits in her brown leather chair and chats with me is overwhelming.

3. You can’t willy-nilly go home.

Most people I know can hop on a train and be home in an hour or have their mom come pick them up and be home in 30 minutes. That is not the case when you live so far away. In order for me to go home, I have to Uber to the airport, go through security, fly somewhere, sit during a layover, and then finally fly home. Not exactly a hop, skip, and a jump.

I can’t go home if I get sick and have my mom wait on my hand and foot, and I can’t go home for small breaks. Not only is it a hassle to go home, but it’s expensive. Like I said though, distance does make the heart grow fonder.

All things considered though, I wouldn’t change a thing. The lows make the highs so much higher.Being hundreds of miles away from everything I’ve ever known has allowed to me to find a new home in a new place with new people. It’s pushed me farther out of my comfort zone than I ever could’ve imagined. And I wouldn’t change a thing.

Well, having my dogs here wouldn’t be bad. But other than that, very good!