We were all so ready to go home for the holidays. The end of classes, no worries about homework, mom's cooking...and then we remembered some of the reasons we left in the first place. Of course, it's not all bad (you did still get mom's cooking, plus leftovers). Here's a list of 13 things we forgot to remember about going home from college.
1. Your younger siblings are still younger than you
This means that they still whine and annoy you and even beg you to pick them up from their friend’s house like you’re at their beck and call. No matter how much you think they might have grown, they haven’t really.
2. You always have to answer 20 questions when going out
No matter how many years it’s been since you’ve been living under your parents’ roof, going out with your friends will always prompt a million questions: Who’s the guy? What girlfriends? Where are you going? Will there be drinking? When will you be back? A simple, “I’m going out,” just won’t cut it.
3. Seeing people from high school is not pleasant
Even if you enjoyed high school, there’s something about encountering those people out in the “real world” that just freaks you out. Especially, after you no longer see them five days a week for nine months out of the year. Of course, your best friends from home are the exception — you both people watch / hide around the corner from the others when in public.
4. Your hometown is painfully boring
Especially if you brought a new significant other home to meet the family — you are suddenly aware of how little there is to do in your hometown. Where’s the coolest bar scene? The best nightlife? How would you know? When you lived here a fun night out consisted of Friday night football and hitting up the nearest Sonic Drive-in.
5. The people from high school want to hang out with you
There will always be those people who want to “totally hang out over break!” and now they’ve come to collect. Of course, you’re not going to want to now, especially not when it cuts into turkey and pie time with the family/best friends from home.
6. No need to check your bank account
Assuming you’re going out to eat with your family and not aforementioned best friends from home, you don’t have to check your bank account before every outing. Side salad with your entree? Of course! Guac is extra? Go for it!
7. Doing laundry is way less stressful.
No one’s going to throw your newly clean things all over the filthy laundry room floor if you aren’t back in precisely 23 minutes to switch it out. Plus, it doesn’t cost money! If you’re really lucky, you don’t even have to do it yourself.
8. Meals aren’t mass-produced.
Unlike the dining hall, dinner isn’t served out of a vat of mashed potatoes and a giant bucket of gravy. Your mom even makes your favorites, and makes sure to send you back with leftovers. On the downside, there’s no endless supply of french fries and pizza.
9. Your younger siblings are growing up
Sure, they’re still whiney and annoying — but then one of them offers to carry your bags, the other tells you about their new crush, and you’re left sitting in the back seat of your younger brother’s car (while he drives you home) wondering when they turned into real people.
10. Your best friends from home are the best
Of course, you’ve made some incredible friendships in college, and they’re important and special, but being friends with people who knew you when you had braces and wore ponchos (and still love you) now that you’re almost-adults, is wonderful and irreplaceable in its own way.
11. Parents have endless patience
Now that you know what it takes to live on your own, you can appreciate how good your parents are at adulting. Not only do they manage themselves, but you, your siblings, your pets, their jobs, the bills and all the grown-up things you don't even know about yet are all taken care of. They do it all without complaint, and usually without thanks. Thanking them for everything and begging them to forgive you for being fourteen is really all you can do at this point.
12. Maybe living so far from home for the rest of your life isn’t as great as you thought
Sure, your hometown’s boring and the rest of the world has so much to offer, but coming home never seems to lose its charm. Maybe you’ll just take short visits everywhere else.
13. Independence is good
Living out of your parents’ house and pocket has its appeals, but you can’t handle the 20 questions or explaining to your best friends from home (and the occasional person from high school) why you live with your parents forever. Maybe you’ll just make long visits to home instead.
