In high school, summer break is something you look forward to. There are no mixed emotions about it. You are just ready to leave and that is it! College is different.

Maybe you are ready to be done with classes, and maybe you miss home, but leaving for college is a lot more complicated than just going home. In high school, you stay in the same town. You probably go on vacation for a week or so, but for the most part, you are still around all of your friends. You can easily call them to go get lunch or just hang out.

However, when you leave for summer break in college, you are more than likely going at least a few hours away to go back home, and so are all your friends. Unless you got lucky like a select few do, most of your closest friends in college are not from your same town. You will not see these people for almost three months, and in some cases, even longer if your friend is transferring or not coming back.

Leaving college brings up a whole whirlwind of emotions. Finals week is upon you, which in turn brings a couple all-nighters, a bunch of stress, and on top of that, you have to pack! Somehow in the midst of studying, you have to find time to pack up your entire life, and prepare to leave.

Now, until you are experiencing this first-hand, it might not sound that hard. In reality, though, it is one of the hardest things I have experienced yet. It is more than just packing; it is mentally preparing to say goodbye to everyone you live with, and all the friends you have made along the way. The people I live with are more than just people down the hall; they are my best friends. They are practically family. We have been there for each other when we miss home, for important events, relationship troubles, rough nights, and so much more.

So maybe I will see most of them in the fall, but that is three months away! Three months is an eternity when you have lived with them for so long and it is difficult to imagine not being able to walk down the hall to freak about the guy that just messaged you, or to borrow a dress, or just talk.

The last weekend before everyone leaves is the worst. If you attend a school like mine, you may have a final at some point that Saturday morning or afternoon. When you get back, you just want to relax and enjoy being done, but then you realize this is the perfect opportunity to start loading up some things to go home.

You probably won't get much more chances between studying for your next finals before you have to be out for good. You get all your things together, step out of your room, and there are boxes everywhere. All of your friends are packing too. As you walk past their rooms, they are practicalIy empty. They are unrecognizable as being lived in by your closest friends. It doesn't even look the same anymore.

Just as you are carrying things out to your car, you pass one of your friends on their way out. They inform you they are leaving now, and give you one last goodbye hug. It is all you can do to keep your composure as they walk away. This is the last time you will see them for the next three months, and as this thought sets in, you can feel the tears coming. You walk down the stairs only to be greeted by parents helping move out. This nightmare is becoming a reality. Everyone is leaving.

The hardest goodbye of all comes when you say goodbye to your roommate. Whether they have been with you from the beginning, or only just a few short months, they have become your go to person, and maybe even your best friend. Seeing them pack up and knowing that they are soon leaving as well is the worst of all because when you each go home, you won't have them laying in the bed next to you.

They will no longer be there through your sleepless nights, late night study sessions, or even random food runs. You suddenly feel empty knowing your best friend is no longer going to be by your side. For me, this is even harder because I know when I come back, she still won't be in the bed next to me because we won't be able to live together next year. When we leave, it is the end of this chapter for us (at least for now). As I prepare to say goodbye to my best friend, I realize I just can't. I'll say see you later, and hope that later comes sooner than I hope.

Now that all the emotions have hit, and you are wallowing in your sadness, don't forget that you still have to study for your last finals. Easier said than done I'm sure. Although, maybe it will be a good way to distract yourself from all of your emotions for a while.

So to all of those who I have said goodbye to, or will soon have to, please know how much I am going to miss you all. I want to thank you to each and every one of you who helped make my first year at school one to remember. I could never begin to explain how much each of you mean to me. I love you all more than you will ever know, and I can't wait to be back here with y'all in the fall.

As for those who are preparing to move to college, enjoy your time at home because you will miss it, but also don't let this article scare you for what is to come this time next year. Instead, let it excite you for all of the people you will soon meet that are going to make saying goodbye so hard. In the end, no matter how much pain it causes, it is even greater to have people who mean so much to you, that saying goodbye is such a hard thing to do.