"Mom I ran out of water bottles."

Sitting in a car, with no GPS on because you know each and every turn you have to make. Being able to get a Starbucks and not even finish it before you get to school. And having the same snapchat zipcode filters at school that you have at home.

I go to college only a short 54 minute car ride away, or if that's "too long" I can hop on a train and get home in 37 minutes. Seeing all my friends have road trips to their colleges or even have to take planes to their new homes is something very strange to me.

Don't get me wrong, the number of times I went home that wasn't on a school scheduled break accounts to only one time. But having the knowledge that if i needed to go home, I could, is something that makes me feel safe.

Some of my friends have said "I would not be able to go to a college that close to home, what if my parents just showed up one night for dinner" or "I can't wait to get out of New York, how can you stay. " I always think, how can they bear being that far away from their real home? My college friends have very similar thoughts to me. Most of my friends live very close to my home town, and my other friends can still say they live within an hour and a half from college.

So, what is it really like to go to college close to home? It is being able to go home when you are sick. It is having your parents come up to watch your dance recital on a random Saturday. It is having your parents pick you up to go to the doctors, your doctor that you have had for many years before college. It is having your mom bring you to target because you're running low on food and shampoo. It is being able to hop on the train and be home within the hour. But most of all, it is feeling comfortable at your new home because your real home is so close.