Coming home from school, whether you’re 20 minutes or six hours away, is always an exciting feeling. Being away at any distance from your family is something that takes getting used to, but you’ll never get used to the feelings that overcome you when you finally see your family members and friends again after being in college for months at a time. You get to reconnect with friends from high school, and catch up on what everyone has been doing since you graduated. Time is spent at old hangout spots that sort of leave a chilling effect on your skin when you realize things aren’t the same as they used to be. You go out to eat with your family, and there’s hugs and probably tears, too. And with this, there’s a stage of emotions you typically feel once you come home after being at college.
Excitement.
It’s been months since you’ve seen everyone! Your family, your friends, and your pets too! Even though you can’t pick out who you’re happiest to see, it doesn’t matter because you’re just so excited to see everyone, sleep in your old bed, eat home-cooked food, and shower without flip flops on!
Exhaustion.
Who knew your bed at home was this comfortable? Well, now that you’re home and settled in, this is the time where all you want to do is catch up on the sleep you missed at school! You finally don’t have anyone running through your hallway at two in the morning drunk, or someone upstairs banging on the ground to keep you up at night.
Nostalgia.
It takes you back to the times when you were in high school. You go to hang out with old friends at the same spot you used to spend your weekends at, and realize it doesn’t feel the same. The air feels a little too cold for your liking, the ground a little dirtier than you remember. Your memories made there are still some of the best, but it’s dated now. You’re cleaning your room, and find your old yearbook. So, naturally, you spend a few hours rifling through the pages and reading what your classmates wrote to you in the back of the book.
Relief.
The relieving feeling that hits you when you realize you still have a whole other half of the break left, because it felt like it was moving too quickly for your liking. Don’t worry, you have another week at home before you even have to think about any homework or what you’ll be doing for dinner that night at the Sak.
Happiness.
In general, this feeling can hit you at any time while you’re home. But, for me, this happens to be the most constant emotion for me. When you take a step back and look at everything with appreciative eyes, you feel so happy and lucky to be able to spend some time with the ones you love.
Regret.
And this usually hits me when I’m driving back to school, because that’s when I regret having to leave my family behind. Why didn’t I stay home for school? My school life makes me happy, but it’s always hard to say goodbye to the people you love and care so much about. Hey, summer’s almost here!
