1. My best friends still in high school: I feel bad leaving them behind and only talking to them once in a while. But visits during break and evening phone calls at least once a week keep me sane.
2. My parents: This one kind of speaks for itself. Being away from my parents for the first time is difficult. I'm really close to my parents and going from seeing them every day to once a month takes its toll on me.
3. My high school teachers: We all had those favorite teachers that you just clicked with that made the day better. Even if there were a few arguments about homework, or if sleeping in class is acceptable, it was still great to have great teachers help shape who I am.
4. My own room and bathroom: It's really hard to adjust to living with someone else in a room slightly bigger than my room at home. Sharing a bathroom with the rest of the girls on my floor is also a new experience. I went from sharing with my mother to sharing with 20 other girls, with a limited number of showers that actually work.
5. My animals: I didn't realize how much I would miss my dog and cat when coming to college. I miss occasionally cuddling and having a companion. I even miss messing with my brother's brat of a cat.
6. Laundry service: I know most high school students do their own laundry already, but I was spoiled and my mom did my laundry for me, so doing my own laundry became an exhausting task that is a major chore.
7. Seeing the friends I grew up with: It's hard transitioning from seeing a certain group of people every day and being really close with them to totally entering a new environment. All of my friends went off in different directions and getting together with people who are also in college can be really difficult. It will never be enough only seeing them on breaks.
8. Knowing everybody in the school, even though Alma is a small community, I don't know many of the students in a lot of my classes, let alone a lot of the school. At home, I knew almost everybody in the school and grew up with a lot of them.
9. The little grocery store: All the employees knew me. I know every inch of the store, where the ice cream is, how to find the dog food and exactly where the Gushers are. You can't stop without having a conversation with at least one other person doing their grocery shopping.
10. Wesco: nothing is better than going to the local gas station, getting a chocolate chip muffin and a Mountain Dew slushie and going to the playground to spend a few hours goofing off with friends.
11. The food: College food isn't that bad, but it is really nice to be home where my parents cook fresh meals with good meat and well seasoned non-fried food.
12. Limited amount of stairs: I didn't have to deal with many stairs, the schools were one floor. The only stairs I needed to deal with were the ones in my house, which were bad enough when I was really tired. Now there are stairs to get into my dorm, my best friend lives on the third floor of a different building, and most of my classes are on the third floor of a building where the stairs are designed to destroy your lungs. I like to consider it my work out of the day.
13. The beach: I grew up 10 minutes away from Lake Michigan and the lake was one of my favorite places. My Mom and I would take trips out to the beach after school once in a while, just to take a break and enjoy some beauty.
These are the things I miss the most when I feel homesick, but I will never forget all the good memories.
