During my first year and a half in college, I went home quite often for major things, like horseback riding and my sister's wedding, but also for little things, like having my laundry done or just because I felt like it. Over the summer, I've come to realize why I traveled home so much, and continue to do so: I enjoy spending more time with my family than I do with my friends.

This isn't saying that my friends aren't great or that I don't enjoy spending time with them. They never fail to keep me entertained and are always there for me when I need them.

But, no one can compare to the way that my family and I get along and have each other's backs.

Being in college, my friends use partying, drinking, and even smoking as different forms of stress relief. As for me, I can just feel the stress lift off of my shoulders and be replaced with feelings of excitement knowing I would get to see my family for the weekend.

Contrary to what my high school self would believe, my parents are actually really fun to hang out with. My mom loves to hear all of my stories about school, the boy problems, and about my future plans. My dad always asks me how my classes are going, if I figured out how the printer works, and he enjoys hearing about my life as a whole.

Being able to come home for the weekend and spend time catching up with them—and maybe have my mom do some laundry—is something that I would take over a party any day.

My sister and I have become incredibly close these past few years, and when she would fly back home from Florida to plan her wedding, I was always excited to see her. She's walked in my shoes more times than one and is always great for advice when I need it.

Coming home to see her and talk about all of the things "we couldn't tell mom about" was a better stress relief than trying to explain the problems to one of my friends.

I am always talking about how my "people" are my family, and that refers to the cousins. We're all a lot more like siblings than cousins; we like to push each other's buttons, the only crying is from when we laugh too hard, and we love the hell out of each other. We try and see each other as often as we can, from the annual beach trip to "Pritchard Family Christmas," and we always complain how we don't get to spend enough time together.

I love my friends, and I wouldn't trade any of them or the memories we've made for anything. However, there's something about family that makes a huge difference.

People might feel differently about their family, and that's totally understandable. But, coming from a family like mine, I know just how blessed I really am. After all, I was raised in a household where God definitely came first, but my family always followed.