I never thought of all the things I would be sacrificing to be living the life I live now. You will miss out on birthdays, holidays, graduations, sporting events, trips, weddings, funerals, and all the little things you used to do. Your parents will get older right before your eyes, grandparents may pass before you get to say goodbye, and your little brother will become a man over Facetime. You will watch your friends and family's lives on Facebook. Hugs from loved ones become months and months apart, dinners made by your mom will be a special treat, and children you once knew as babies will be 5 or 6. Your spot at the dinner table is filled with someone else's plate. When you need to cry to your mom, that will have to be done over the phone without a hug. Your birthday will become a normal day with opening presents you get in an Amazon box outside your apartment door. There are no goodnight hugs or kisses and there is not a nightlight you've had since you were 5. The 17-hour trip home becomes harder and harder to plan around everyone's changing schedule.

When you do get the chance to go visit, talking about your life becomes hard to do. Your family doesn't know your roommate's boyfriend's name or where your new favorite restaurant is. You will have to introduce your significant other to your family over the phone and try to explain some of your wildest stories without getting frustrated. It will be hard to find a common subject to talk about with people who once knew your every step. Your neighborhood will look different every time you come home, there are new neighbors and your home won't smell the same as it once did. Your bedroom has now become the home office and your dog doesn't remember you when you walk through the backdoor. Those roads you once drove every day don't feel as familiar as they once did. Your favorite store closed its doors a couple of months back and your church is full of people you don't know. Your brother is dating someone you've never met and there are prom pictures you've never seen hanging on the wall. Your high school becomes a building full of strangers with last names you've never heard before. It seems like you just came home before you are on your way back to school again for the next four months.

When you think about college as I did, consider the sacrifices but as many sacrifices, as you make there are many things to look forward to. You will be starting with a clean slate and get to do anything and everything. You will find a new favorite local store and restaurant. You will learn to make your mom's recipes from your apartment kitchen to hopefully feed your children one day. You will cherish every time you get to spend with your family and watch every special event on live stream. You will meet your lifelong friends and their families who live nearby. You will be able to explore a brand new part of the country with tons of new experiences you may not have ever been able to do. You will have tons of photos to share with your friends and family on Facebook and lots of new memories to share at the dinner table when you go home. You get to have someone visit you at school and show them every little thing on your campus that you love so much. Your family will become your school's biggest sports fans and have a sweatshirt in every color. You will meet so many people from all over the world who are going through the same thing you are. You will be able to share your hometown and family memories with your friends from school. It will be the time of your life even with all the sacrifices.