For many college freshmen, the first time they return home is over fall break--the much anticipated three-day weekend where they sink back into their familiar lifestyles that they had abandoned just a few months ago. As they pull into their driveway feeling nostalgia for high school, they expect everything to be exactly as it had been when they left. But college distorts the perception of home, and everything simultaneously seems a little bit different and exactly the same. Here are 11 revelations freshmen have when returning home.
1. My bed is so low.
At school, I need a running start and a jump to get onto my lofted bed. At home, my bed barely hits three feet above the ground.
2. My room is rather spacious.
I used to think my room at home was small, but after living in what feels like a 10-by-10-foot cube for the past few months, my bedroom at home comparatively has a copious amount of space.
3. Everything is spacious.
This revelation is exclusive to those returning to their suburban roots after conforming to the urban lifestyle of a city school. As I pulled into my hometown on a curving tree-lined street, it felt as though the world had expanded exponentially.
4. I'm alone a lot.
With a roommate and a dining hall full of people, being alone is a rarity--and as a freshman, the small talk and socializing never seems to end. But at home, I can escape to my bedroom whenever.
5. The TV in my family room seems like its the size of a movie theater screen.
After having my eyes glued to a computer screen for the past two months, a real TV seems excessively large. I had convinced myself that TVs were overrated--that Netflix on my laptop was comparable. But after clicking on the TV in my house and seeing the life-sized faces of the characters fill up the screen, I rescind that statement.
6. Driving is only a little like riding a bike.
Sure, after a few months off the road you can hop right back behind the wheel. But as I drove down the street--slightly distracted--to get my morning coffee, I realized I had forgotten all of the things that actually demand my absolute attention: street lights, pedestrians, the speed limit, cats, dogs, etc.
7. The water pressure in my shower is so strong it kind of hurts.
The lukewarm trickle of water that drips from the shower nozzle in my dorm bathroom is a weak excuse for a shower. The water pressure in my shower at home pounds against my skin at an amazingly scalding temperature. Another great thing about my shower at home is that I can belt my favorite throwback Natasha Bedingfield tunes without judgment.
8. Having a full-sized fridge just a flight of stairs away from my bedroom is dangerous.
Being rather lazy, the quarter-mile walk to the dining hall is a strenuous pursuit, which probably explains why I have had very few full meals since being in school, stuffing myself with the snacks I stash in my dorm room instead. But over fall break weekend, I ventured to the fridge at leisure, indulging in all the commodities I've been too lazy to go out and buy/prepare for myself.
9. Home-cooked meals are a luxury.
The pasta in the dining hall doesn't even come close to comparing to my mom's homemade sauce.
10. Dishwashers are an amazing appliance
As gross as it sounds, I don't think a single one of my mugs at school is truly clean. Hand-washing dishes--at least the way I hand-wash dishes--doesn't get the grime quite like a dishwasher does.
11. My family is exactly the same.
All of the gears and cogs that make up my family somehow managed to persistently grind on without me when I left for college. However, I slipped back into the rhythm seamlessly. Regardless of my location respective to my parents, siblings, and cousins, my family will always be exactly the same as I left it. As exciting as college is, it's comforting to know that my favorite people will be waiting with open arms every time I walk through the door.
