For most students, college means moving away from home to live in confined dorm rooms with unfamiliar people. To many students, this may seem like the most difficult part of being a resident on campus.
Yes, moving away from family and long-time friends is incredibly challenging. There is nothing like saying goodbye to all of the important people in your life, to the home you have known for so long and to the comfort you have grown to feel in the four years spent in high school. Unfortunately, moving back home for summer break proves to be just as difficult as going away.
The transition between living at college and living at home seems to grow increasingly difficult with time. As a freshman, living on campus with people you barely know may be a scary thought. As time goes on, these strangers become your friends, and you begin to create relationships with people who live all around the country or even the world. These are people who you see every single day, who sleep in the same dorm rooms, who eat the same food and who take the same classes. These are the people who become your best friends. The relationships created in college are like no other. Why might this be problematic? Well, when May rolls around, you have to say goodbye to these new relationships for at least four months.
The friendships created within the past year now seem difficult to maintain. The girl down the hall you borrowed clothes from is now three hours away. The boy who you grew to love now lives six hours away. The friend group you formed has trouble finding a weekend to spend together.
Each person we meet in college has a different life back at home. We all have different friends, we have different jobs and we live in different parts of the world. So how can we be so compatible with people who are not the same as us?
Leaving behind our college friends is not the only challenging experience we have when moving back home. When we move away from home, our family and friends continue to live. Their lives do not pause because we are not present. While at college, we are so distracted by what is going on around us that we do not recognize that the people back home are changing just as much as we are.
The 8-year-old sister, who barely knew how to spell, is now 9 and the spelling bee champion. The 15-year-old brother, who made you drive him and his friends around, is now 16 and has a license. These changes seem so small to your family back home, but when you arrive, it seems like your whole world is different. The freedom that we once had at school is now taken when your parents ask you 20 questions every time you go out. They want to know where you’re going, who you’re going to be with, and what time you’ll be home.
These are all things that every college student goes through when they move back home for the summer. It’s a hard transition, but everyone goes through it. Just remember, change is good; it teaches us about ourselves and we learn to grow as people. Try to challenge yourself to push through and enjoy where life brings you.
The following tips are important to keep in mind:
1. You are not alone.
Every college student has to deal with the transition home for summer break. All of your friends are going through the same thing. It is normal to have such a troubling time.
2. Your family is also having a hard time transitioning.
Don’t forget, your parents see changes in you too. Try not to argue with them so much, they are only trying to get to know you better.
3. You’ll be back at school in a few months.
Your friends are still your friends. They will still be there for you when you go back to school. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?
4. Enjoy your time at home.
Don’t forget to relax. You are on summer break. Have fun and enjoy the time you get to spend with your family and friends at home. If you have a chance to take a road trip and see your school friends, do it! Summer is a time to make wonderful memories, don’t spend it worrying about everything that has changed!
