At the end of every spring semester, college students living at school can't help but look forward to going home, seeing their friends and families, and sleeping in their own beds. Whether students are working to make money to pay for college and necessities or hitting the beach and lounging by the pool, all students long for an escape for all of the hard work and stress associated with college life.
However, what these college students fail to realize, that in most cases, they will grow tired of that summer lifestyle they longed for and will want to return to the lives they live at school. Yes, after being away at college for nine months (especially without trips home during the semester) might be nice for a while but it can also be a culture shock.
It is rather difficult to go from living on your own by your own rules for around nine months to living back home with your parents by their rules. After being given a little taste of freedom, going back to living life without any freedom seems impossible. You go from no curfew, no chores, and no rules to basically having the same rules that you had in high school.
Not only is this a difficult adjustment to make, but it can be annoying. After going away to college and living their own, college students know how to take care of themselves. They don't need mom and dad telling them what to do when to do it and how to do it.
On the other hand, college students fail to realize that abiding by their parents' rules is actually a small price to pay or living rent-free with home cooked meals under their parents' roofs for the entirety of the summer.
In reality, living at home for a few months might not be as bad as us college students make it out to be. It is important to remember that your parents love you and they only set rules because they love you and they are so happy to have you living back at home with them. Also, odds are the chores, or things that your parents ask you to do are things that you would have to do for yourself if you were living on your own anyway.
While college students have gotten used to being on their own at school, their parents were forced to, and eventually made the adjustment of, not having a college student in the house. They have to account for another mouth to feed, and they have to get used to the extra noise (especially if you talk as much as I do). I know my parents are happy to have me home, but I'm sure they are having as hard a time adjusting as I am.
Throughout my time living back at home with my parents so far, I have learned to compromise by bearing with them and in return, I have gained some freedom at home. I have also kept up with the different chores that I did for myself living at college anyway. Since I want to be treated like an adult, I figured the first step was acting like one.
In the end, being home for the summer is definitely something to take advantage of. Soon enough you'll be living on your own and you'll miss living with your parents. Make the best of it and who knows, it could be the best summer of your life.
