Making the choice to move out and live on campus without a car was a big deal for me. It meant that I was on my own, without the freedom of driving to and from my house whenever I pleased. It meant not getting to see my family or snuggle up with my dogs every night.
I knew all of this going into it, and I knew that there were going to be a lot of things that I would miss while learning to be independent. I knew I was going to miss hanging out with my mom, fishing with my dad, and annoying my little brother. But in this article, I am talking about the things that I never once would have realized I was taking for granted.
All of the things I mention are moments that, although I enjoyed them, I never knew that they held such a place in my heart that being deprived of them would, at times, make me second guess my newest journey that is college.
I knew I was going to miss each person in my family, but I never really knew specific reasons why until I started missing them. I miss the random topics of discussion at the dinner table and renting each and every "Pitch Perfect" movie On Demand and watching them with my parents. I miss going into my mom's room at 12 A.M. and staying up laughing for an hour sharing stories and looking at funny Instagram posts.
When people try to prepare you for college, they tell you that you will miss your family, but they never say what you will miss. You miss your family because you have known them your entire life, and they have shaped you into the person that you are today. So, leaving them forces you to try to find a way to fill a large portion of your heart that has been so full of love for the past 18 years. You miss the bond that you have formed with each and every person in your family and the memory making that you currently feel like you are missing out on.
I knew that I was going to miss my best friends from high school; everyone does. I was fortunate enough to meet my best friends during my freshman year of high school and, even in college, I know that they are the best friends I will ever have the pleasure of knowing. The reason best friends are so difficult to leave is that of the jokes only you understand. Because when you're with people at college and something reminds you of something you and your best friend laughed at in lunch your freshman year of high school, it quickly dawns on you that they are not there, and you are laughing alone.
Of course, you make new friends and have good times with them, but you can't help but miss singing old Taylor Swift songs in the passenger seat while going to your favorite restaurant for the third time in a month with the best friends you grew up with. It doesn't get any better than that.
To the memories and moments that I never knew I needed, I will be home in no time.
