Wouldn't we love to know what really goes through our pets minds when we finally return to them?
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I'm moving back in with... my parents?!?
Summer is basically here, and you know we're all very much excited! However, with the year winding down by the few days we have left, there can be mixed feelings about what to expect moving back home for the summer after the first year of college.
Here's a list of end of the year and beginning of summer emotions that are all too real:
Regardless of how freshman year was, we must all move on to bigger and brighter things. Although, the hard part is figuring out what to do with life when not a student. Do you go back to that crappy summer job to pay off college debt? Take summer classes(me!) Or, take a long, slow, do nothing for two months kind of vacation?
With constantly meeting new people, it may seem hard to figure out who you will actually keep up with. Also, with people's busy summer schedules it may be difficult.
Moving back home can have lots of mixed emotions. For example, is my mom still going to treat me like a high schooler after being self-sufficient for an entire year? Will I get bossed around if I don't find a summer job? After finals, it's a whole new list of unknowns.
You know if you signed that on-campus housing contract for year two, you definitely want your own apartment by summer. Of course, paid for by your parents because college students have no money. This eliminates the "I have to move back in with my parents for the summer" slogan. Still out here proving to mom that I can be self-sufficient.
For those of us wackos who couldn't get enough of studying this year, we decided to take a Maymester. Let's face it, some of us have to to stay in our major, bring up our GPA, get into the classes we want, or simply be done with college sooner. If you are bored over the summer and have nothing to do, this is a great option.
With the end of this year, comes a new year full of more experiences and learning, and definitely more friends. Going home brings back memories of being a high school kid living out the days until you went to college and before life actually became challenging.
Take time to be with family and friends that you don't see as much. These can be high school friends that are home for the summer and go to different colleges or a quick visit to Grandma and Grandpa.
Regardless of how strongly you feel about this year, every year is different. There will be different classes, friends, living space. The college home that I've grown to love will change just as I do.
This may be the last free summer before people are landing internships and jobs for the summer. Lastly, take time to enjoy time off while you have it. Because, before you know it, we'll be working the nine to five all the time.
Once one has the freedom to make their own decisions, it is hard to go back to having someone telling you what to do.
Everyone has been scared at some point in their life. We have all had our heart racing and palms sweating, but my palms aren't sweating, my heart isn't racing and I am not scared of where I am going. However, I find myself nervous. I am nervous to go home. I have this feeling that being home is going to be different. I can't figure out why. I went home for Christmas Break. It was great, but I worked a lot and was barely home, so it was like I was away at school. I just came home to a different building and my high school friends came to "school" with me. I guess it was a different type of being away.
When I go home for summer, it won't be like Christmas Break. There will be many similarities like I will be working, I will be living at home, and I will be home with friends from high school.
I believe going home makes me anxious due to the fear of returning to an old routine. Being at school, I have developed my own routine and new habits. Going home means interrupting my family's as well as my new routines and habits. I think that there will be an adjustment period of syncing the new habits and routines. I am scared of the awkwardness and the tension that comes with being together again. When I say tension, I mean remembering the little things that get on family members nerves and being conscious of their schedules.
This applies to seeing friends, too. Everyone changes from the transition of high school to college. Different aspects of our personalities grow while others remain the same or wither away. I'm interested to see who has changed and who has stayed the same and how all these changes mesh when being together again.
I believe the majority of students feel this way when going home for the first time. For the most part, I have heard that little to no one wants to go home for the whole summer. Most want to go for a visit because he or she loves and misses their family and friends, but school is a new sense of freedom.
This freedom makes going back home good and bad. We as students receive the encouragement to grow to make our own path, but going back home takes away some of our independence. We have to follow old rules and expectations. This brings the tension back into the equation. Once one has the freedom to make their own decisions, it is hard to go back to having someone telling you what to do.
Another point knowing that the summer after freshman year is probably the last real summer. After this summer, students will be trying to land internships, jobs, and trying to graduate on time or early. So knowing that it's the last "free for all" instills one wanting to make the most of it.
I guess you could now say that I am not nervous to be home. Rather, I am curious to see what the summer brings. I will be missing my college life, loving my time with my family, and figuring my life and the goals that come along with it.
Who doesn't love going home and having your parents foot the bill for ... everything?
At the end of every semester, for those students who go away for college, they look forward to returning back home for various reasons. Similarly enough, I'm sure all the parents are ecstatic to have their children back. However, the excitement doesn't last very long.
When returning home, most if not all, students have the luxury to have homecooked meals, their laundry done for them and dishes done by their mom. That "independent" student that once existed has walked out the door and now all there's left is a highly dependent child.
One of the many perks of being home for the holidays is the lack of responsibilities a college student has. The stress of having to study for another exam or doing all-nighters to finish assignments has quickly vanished. Now their days are filled with Netflix marathons, sleeping in until midday and staying out all night. This can get a little worrisome for their parents, seeing their kids do absolutely nothing. But it is important for parents to keep in mind that their kids have just endured a week filled sleepless nights and they are completely burned out.
Being away for college means that there are no nagging parents with strict curfews, thus allowing one to stay out and go wherever they please. That is why one may get into more arguments with their parents when they're home. If your parents are anything like mine, then I'm positive they use the "as long as you live under my roof you'll follow my rules," as much as they can, and even though you're only there for a couple weeks, its best to do as they say. If not, you'll probably find yourself sleeping on a different friend's couch every other day. It is important to find a good balance that works both for you and your parents to avoid as much confrontation as possible and to make your stay a smooth and relaxing one.
One of the biggest advantages of being home is not being on a college budget. You can go out, have a good dinner, and not have to worry about how much the bill will be because you're with mom and dad. Being able to go to the grocery store and pick anything you want has to be one of the greatest feelings one can feel. Not having to worry and budget yourself reduces a great amount of stress.
While it's clear that returning home can have many pros and cons, it is important for everyone, both students and parents, to enjoy those couple of weeks together. Try to find a happy medium to avoid as many arguments as possible. Making returning home an enjoyable one instead of a dreadful one. It is crucial to enjoy life's little moments with those you love the most.
Regardless of the negativity that may exist.
It's hard for me not to get excited when I'm driving home from college. Thinking about the rolling valleys and open roads gets my heart racing. I love my hometown and all of its beauty, but that isn't the case for all of its inhabitants.
I live in a small area tucked in between valleys in Central Pennsylvania. We're surrounded by gorgeous mountains and beautiful plains-- but also ugly negativity. People are always dumbfounded when I say I want to live in Mifflin County for the rest of my life. I could never pinpoint why, until I was talking to my family. People focus on the negativity in life. They can't escape the negative aspects that ruin their hometown for them.
Yes, there are people you can't stand. Yes, there are minor problems with crime. Yes, there are people who you find give where you live a bad reputation because of their actions. But aside from all that, what really is bad about where you live? You cannot escape these wherever you go, so what is the point in dwelling on the negatives in life?
Once people can shift their mindset from negative to positive, they will be able to live a more content life. They will be able to sit back and watch the sunset over the green fields and smile. They will be able to let go of whatever taints the view of such a beautiful place to live. When you can do this, you can enjoy the life you live in the breathtaking area you live in.
It all has to do with a positive mindset. When you can look at life positively, everything around you will being to improve. Your life, your relationships and your environment, slowly but surely will get better. Go outside, take a breath of the fresh air, and realize that where you live is a beautiful place, regardless of the ugliness that may exist within it.
Over Thanksgiving break, I had the privilege of returning to my old stomping grounds to talk to the high school seniors about something that they were dying to hear about: college. This was more of an excuse to go back and visit old teachers, but I had a really good time doing it nonetheless. I didn't realize how engaged the students would be and how excited they would be to have me there.
I started off by telling them a bit about myself- where I'm at school, what I plan on majoring in, and how I plan to go about doing it. I went ahead and made a little cheat sheet for them with all of my advice on it that ranged from application tips to even making friends once you arrive at school. I also researched a bunch of schools that didn't have application fees and made a list for them on the sheet as well. I didn't realize how big of a hit this sheet would be! People were taking pictures of it and passing it around, and when I walked into my Junior year AP English teacher's classroom, a student stood up and asked, "Yo, are you that girl who made the college sheet?" I proceeded to pass it around to that class as well after much demand.
Going back to high school was an experience like no other. It felt oddly nostalgic and I didn't think that I would feel anything emotional at all seeing as I was always dying to get out of there. But it was nice. The classrooms hadn't changed, and everyone remained where they were before I had left. This reminded me of the fact that life goes on once you're gone. Just because I'm not at Milton High School anymore doesn't mean that time stopped. I was just replaced with someone else. My grade was replaced by the incoming Freshman class, and my seat was (hopefully) replaced by an inspired young student.
I was also shocked at how the teachers treated me. Although always respectful in high school, I never felt truly on the same level as teachers. This made sense because technically we were on two completely different levels. But once I had graduated and come back, it seemed like they were treating me as a true adult, as if I had crossed that barrier between childhood and adulthood and they could finally talk to me like a real person.
This was a pretty special experience for me that I didn't think would have the impact that it did. I hope to return to Milton High School again sometime this year, and I can't wait to watch the current seniors shine.
