Going to college is a privilege, and I am grateful to have had it afforded to me. But, I have one major problem with it. I feel like I am always missing out. I miss birthdays, and holidays. First teeth. First Dates. First Cars. One day I'm going to start missing proms and graduations. Everyone in my family is incredibly understanding, but I am not.

If my priorities were truly my own, I would go home every weekend, and birthday, and school dance. But I can't afford those decisions. I can't afford the gas money and I can't afford the time. I could've chosen a school that was less expensive or closer to home, but I know I wouldn't be satisfied then either. It is truly a lose-lose, but I am also winning a college education and a chance to better myself.

I realize that it is a selfish problem and that there are bigger issues in the world. I know that it is something that I could work more to fix, and could find better ways to manage my time. But, then I remember that I missed my nephew's first Halloween, that my nieces' know that I am going to miss their chorus concerts, and that my parents' are genuinely surprised when I find a day to come home.

It's a situation that I am going to work to change, that I have the capability of changing, and that I will not be truly satisfied until I change.