To my family and friends,

I've only been home for a week and I already miss school. I miss my cozy dorm room and the laughter emanating from the lobby. I miss the mozzarella sticks from the cafeteria and the coffee from the library. I miss the responsibility and being on my own. And I miss the friends who have changed my life in a matter of nine months.

Understand this...me wanting to be back at school already has nothing to do with you. I wouldn't trade being at home for anything else. But I ask that you give me time. Being back at home for three months is a weird concept for me after spending over nine months away at school. While away, I've learned to be responsible for myself and I have had to make my own rules. I haven't had Mom and Dad around to remind me when to do laundry or push me to get my homework done. I've had to learn how to balance school, work, friends, and family. These past months, I've changed and I've grown, and coming back home, things are different. I have to remember to follow the rules and to not stay in my pajamas all day. I have to remember to respect my parents and to put time aside to spend with family. I have to remember to keep up with responsibilities and to work to make money. And all of that will take time. It took me weeks, even months, to get accustomed to college. So be mindful, it will take me a bit to get accustomed to home again.

Although it may seem I am not grateful to be home, I truly am. I know I don't show it though. When I graduate from college and leave the house for good, I'll look back at this summer and recognize that I miss home. I'll recognize how grateful I should have been in that moment because now that moment is gone. So please forgive me. I know what that lesson in three short years will be but I haven't fully experienced it yet. I know I won't fully comprehend what it means to be grateful until what I should have been grateful for is gone. That's a lesson I am learning and will continue to learn, and I hope you will learn it with me as well.

So as I am home for the summer, firstly I ask that you give me time. Let me grow back into the shoes that I wore at home and come to remember how sweet home is. I ask that you let me miss school because I know come September I am going to miss home. Let me call and Skype my friends, let me post "miss you" pictures on the Internet, and let me visit them as often as possible. Come September, I will want to do all of this with you too. I ask that you allow me more responsibility and freedom as I am now considered an adult but please also remind me when I am being disrespectful or crossing the line. And lastly, I ask that you help me to make this summer one full of memories and fun. One that I will be able to look back at after I graduate and think, I am grateful for home.

Love,

Your college student