You finally finished your freshman year and get to head home. After the first few weeks of summer, the scar that is finals week will fade away, and you’ll begin to reflect upon your first year of college. These are the 10 things you’ll realize after coming home from your freshman year.
1. You’re still a kid.
Yes you may be 18, but as long as you’re still under your parents roof you’re still a kid. They make the rules and you, unfortunately, have to follow them. It’s hard going from being able to do whatever you want for the past nine months to having all these restrictions again. You may feel like an adult now, but trust me you’re not. Give your parents a break the first few weeks. As frustrated as you are with having all the rules again, they’re just as frustrated that you’re refusing to follow them.
2. You have the worst sleeping habits ever.
Without all the rules and supervision your parents provided, you definitely made a few mistakes. One of those happened to be staying up until well past midnight every day of the week and never getting up before 10 a.m. or noon if it was the weekend. That probably wasn’t the brightest decision as you’re basically nocturnal at this point. Oddly enough, you’re parents do get nervous if you haven’t gotten out of bed by the time they’re on their second meal.
3. Living in the dorms was actually awesome!
When living in the dorms, your friends are literally always down the hall. If you ever needed someone to talk to or were just bored, the answer to your prayers was no more than a few doors down. That is not the case at home. Your new college friends are hours away and it feels nearly impossible to function without them at this point. Yeah, the living conditions weren't that great, but you’d live anywhere if it meant you could be with your friends right now.
4. That 8 a.m. class you had wasn’t actually that bad.
At the time, any 8 a.m. class you had seemed like a death sentence. Who even schedules classes for that early? What you failed to realize was people in the normal world are usually at work by 8 a.m. If you’re interning this summer, you’re in for a shock. At least for your 8 a.m. you could show up with messy hair and sweatpants. If you wanted to, you could even wake up 10 minutes before class started and just sprint across campus. Now, you actually have to look presentable each day. Sprinting to work is definitely not an option either. You have to be up well before that 8 a.m. start time and prepared for a commute consisting of endless traffic.
5. Your group chat is actually the best thing you’ve ever had.
It is beyond weird not seeing your college friends every single day. I am not sure how I would survive without my friend group's group chat. If you can't actually be with each other, at least you can be together in spirit. The constant buzzing you once found annoying is now in a way comforting. They may not have seen the super embarrassing thing you did, but you bet you’re going to text the group chat so they can relive your embarrassment with you.
6. Your new friends had lives before you.
At school, you kind of just forget your friend group isn’t the only one your friends have and that they actually talk to other people. It is definitely weird seeing your besties posting photos with people you don’t know all over Facebook and Instagram. Sure, you’ve seen these people on the occasional FaceTime call, but you never fully believed they were real! At least they still consist of the friend group you know and love.
7. Normal people don’t go to Walmart at three in the morning.
College is the best because no one actually cares what you do so long as you stay alive and nothing gets broken. If you and your friends want to go get ice cream in the middle of the night, no one will question it. The employees at your college towns local Walmart won’t even bat an eye. This is considered a completely normal thing to do. Meanwhile, the first time you try this at home two things will likely happen. One, you will discover the grocery store in your tiny little hometown does not have the same hours that a Super Walmart does. Two, you’re parents assume you are up to no good if you leave the house after midnight without telling anyone.
8. Your bed at home is so comfortable.
There is only so much you can do to make those dorm beds comfortable. Pile on the memory foam and mattress toppers and you’re still left with a sub-par mattress. Not to mention you probably hadn't slept in a twin bed in years. When you finally return home, you’ll appreciate the luxury of being able to toss and turn to your hearts content in your queen bed without worrying about falling out of bed. True story: first weekend of college I fell out of my bed. It was lofted. Yes, it hurt.
9. It wasn't just your imagination, college food sucks.
Nothing compares to your first home cooked meal after you get home. After consuming the same food fed to prisoners for so long (I’m not joking, Clarkson University’s food supplier also supplies food to the jail system), your mom's cooking basically tastes like five-star dining. I don't care if all she makes you is mac and cheese; I guarantee it’s 20 times better than anything you’ve consumed in the last month.
10. Your parents do so much for you.
Being back home has so many perks. When I first got home, I was exhausted from finals and the long drive back. I basically climbed into bed for a week and emerged only for the essentials in life. When I finally came out of my room, my mom had already done all of the laundry I let build up at school, my dad had washed my car and both of my parents had completely unpacked my stuff. You have no idea how grateful I was. After being at school for nine months, you forget how much you used to depend on your parents. The best part about being home is definitely your parents.
