When I was a senior in high school, I wanted nothing more than to escape the city of Philadelphia. I thought that if I didn’t get out for college that I would never be able to leave. So I made the leap and now as a senior in college I can easily say that past four years have been more than hard.

I have so many memories with my family… Sunday dinners at my mom’s house, weekends at the beach, Saturday morning brunch and soccer games, random late nights with long sessions of Rock Band, each of these memories and so many more are the reasons that I struggle every day.

I hate missing family gatherings, even the simple, unplanned, small and minuet ones that no one thinks to appreciate because they’re there in the moment.. but me, I will never take another family gathering for granted. I sit here with tears welling up in my eyes because I have missed birthdays and dinners and celebrations, all of which… I will never get another chance to relive with my family. I will sometimes get a chance to FaceTime them while they’re sitting around the dinner table or at a birthday celebration but, it isn’t until I hang up that the tears hit the floor.

I understand that life is made up of hard decisions, but to move away from everything you know and the comfort and love of your family to follow your dream… it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. I don’t know if I would do things differently if I had the chance… but, I do know that no matter how far I am from my family, there is nothing that can take away the bond I have with them.

My phone is always attached at my hip, but not because I care more about social media than what’s happening in front of me… but because if I get an unexpected FaceTime call from home, I would want to be sure to answer it. I call my mom at least three times a day, text my oldest brother at least once a week and my other brother… well our conversations our dispersed but, it's as often as our schedules allow. I am so dependent on them for help in making decisions and being there when I need a shoulder or six to cry on.

Moving away is hard… especially when you put your family before anything.