It's August, the fall semester is approaching, and some of you will be soon be packing up your things to move into your dorm room. That was me this time last year. I was going into my third year at college, but it was only the first year that I'd be living on campus. I commuted for my first two years and wasn't happy with it, so I decided to try living on campus for the rest of my time at school.

Well, that was the plan.

As it turns out, living on campus was not for me, and I found myself yearning for things about living at home and commuting that I previously had taken for granted. To make the story short: I'm not going to live on campus again. So, for everyone on the fence about commuting to school, here's what I learned about living on campus and what made me decide to go back to commuting:

1. You can make a home wherever you go, but it won't be the same.

One thing I initially liked about living on campus was that I was able to get a new bedroom all to myself – one that I could decorate and furnish to my liking (as long as my liking abided by the university's rules). And it was true, I could make it a home away from home for myself. I barely left that room all year, even though I was living in a townhouse-style dorm. But it was never the same as my actual home. It was never the right temperature, there was never the same level of comfort and my dog was never there to make it feel like a real home. It also didn't help that the WiFi was much better at home than at school.

2. You have freedom to whatever you want, but that includes eating whatever you want.

Freedom is what everyone wants, especially as a freshman going into college as a just-turned 18-year-old. It's what I even wanted as a 20-year-old going into my junior year. I had the freedom to come and go as I pleased, with no judgment or questioning. But freedom came with a price: I had the freedom to buy and eat whatever food I wanted, which meant I ate unhealthily, and I know I wasn't the only one. It's where the idea of the “Freshman 15” comes from. There are no more home-cooked meals at college – missing those and trying to get your diet right is tougher than I thought.

3. You'll be away from family, but you'll have roommates and neighbors to deal with.

During my first two years of college, living at home, I found myself wishing I lived on campus because it would mean that I could do my homework somewhere quieter than at home, where I was being distracted and tempted into doing things other than homework. So when I moved on campus and got my own bedroom away from home, I was elated. But I didn't expect to be bothered by people at school, too. There are roommates, college friends, and neighbors to distract you. The good thing about living on campus, though, is that there's a quiet library not far from you. If you have the willpower to get yourself there, you're golden.

4. You'll be closer to everything on campus you need, but that will tempt you to take on too much.

The gym, campus center, academic buildings, community centers, other dorms, and library are all nearby. And in college, it seems like every day there's a new club to join, part-time job to take on, and resume-boosting opportunity to embrace. It can be tempting to take on more and more responsibilities until it becomes overwhelming to even get through the day.

5. You'll be closer to your friends, but that will tempt you to do too little.

Procrastination. We're all susceptible to it, no matter who we are or whether we live on campus or at home. But being on campus makes it even harder to resist because of the amount of friends and other college students around us who might encourage us to put the homework aside for later and do something else instead. At home, there may be some distraction, but it's easier to resist family than it is to resist friends.

I've found both pros and cons to living on campus and at home, and it turned out that the cons of living on campus outweighed the pros for me. For anyone doubting their decision to commute to school or wondering whether or not they should choose to live on campus next year, take what I learned into consideration. Living on campus might be great for a lot of people, but it isn't for everyone, just as commuting isn't for everyone either. If this list didn't help, make your own list of pros and cons before you decide how you feel about commuting.