For those of you who have had the privilege of living on your own at college, moving back in with your parents can be a bit of a culture shock. In my experience, being independent and making my own decisions at school was ideal with parental support from a distance (preferably long distance I might add). Don't get me wrong, I love my parents and I am extremely grateful for them and all that they do for my siblings and I, but at my age, independence is bliss.

I think the main struggle of coming home is working out a "curfew." I am resistant to say curfew because I am, in fact, an adult (legally) and it feels wrong to say that I have a curfew. But, out of respect for my parents, I can't be coming home at all hours of the night like I did at school. Even after over a month of being home from school I still struggle with this aspect of living with my parents. Specifically because I don't get off of work until eleven at night and like to go out with friends after. After countless conversations with my parents though, I have found that coming home around two in the morning is a happy medium for us all. Anytime after two would be too late and any time before would leave me only a short amount of time to do anything.

My second issue with transitioning back to my parents' rules is communicating to them where I am and what I am doing at all times. This might be different for every household, but my parents just like a heads up when I go somewhere in case something were to happen. It could be as simple as me forgetting to tell my parents that I went from one friends house to another, but I have a hard time remembering to tell them stuff like this. I think it is mainly because at school I never had to check in or tell anyone where I was going for about nine months. Again though, out of respect I have to remind myself constantly to check in throughout the day.

I could go on and on about the struggles of moving back home, but I'll end on a note that I think a lot of people can relate to. My biggest problem is realizing that I have to do things in a timely manner. At school I could wait to do laundry until my clothes were piling up for weeks. I could leave dirty dishes for days and do them whenever I pleased, and I could clean my room whenever I felt like it. In my parents house, I have to do all of these things right away or at least a lot faster than I would choose to. I have to take into account that there are other people living in this house with me and I can't be my typical amount of lazy. In short, coming back home is nice and all, but the transition from college life takes more effort than I originally expected. However, I have to enjoy being able to live with my parents and mooch off of them while it lasts because if college taught me anything, it is that being an adult is hard.