In my experience, college-aged individuals love going back to school. Likely, it is not due to the learning aspect or the excessive amounts of work and reading they are assigned, but for something different. Those who I have been around love going back to school because it's a place that they feel has become their new home. If you think about it, it's not really so weird for many to call their school their home. Their friends are there, they have clubs and intramural sports that they're involved in, the food is often purchased by meal points that are supplied by the generosity of most students' parents.
It sounds like a great home for many, and I can somewhat understand why my peers get excited to go back to school after having stints back in their hometown. However, for me, it is quite the opposite. During my freshman year, I remember my RA telling me that I would end up thinking of my school as home soon enough and that I wouldn't want to leave, and while that may have been true for a week or so, it most definitely is not now.
I hate leaving home and in all honesty, I'm writing this right now so I don't have to pack my bags to go back to the hell hole that many call university. I, unlike many of my peers, do not find joy leaving their hometown to go back to a place where I have to sleep on a twin sized bed, suffer through pointless conversations with people I don't really like and eat food that has about as much variation as Donald Trump's willingness to release his tax records. My school is exactly that for me, a school. Not a home, not a safe haven, but somewhere that if I could not go back to and still get a degree without question, I would.
People probably think I'm cynical for saying I hate going back to university while so many out there don't have the opportunity to even do so, and I understand that. Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful I have the opportunity to learn and to get a higher education that is unfortunately not offered to many in the United States. However, the decision between which place I love to be at more? The place where I feel most like myself? Hands down, my hometown.
I'm not sure if it's just me, but I love my home and my hometown. A lot of people I know hate Pleasanton, where I'm from, and their main goal is to get out as soon as possible. But me, I love it here. I love that I can drive down the streets and know exactly where I am without having to use GPS. I love that I can go eat at my favorite restaurants and fast food places without them being 500 miles away (In-N-Out & Chick-fil-a). I love that I can see my friends who I've been close with since I was four.
Most of all, I love being home because that's where my family is. My mom is the hardest working, most caring and loving person I have ever met. She is my world and my best friend, and truthfully, I hate being at school because it sets us more than 500 miles apart. I love being home to watch my sister grow up, and regardless of how annoyed and mad she gets at me, I love going to her sporting events supporting her.
Everything I love is at home. My family, my closest friends, my church, my food, my Netflix account courtesy of my mom, her couch that I love to watch my shows on — everything. All that I need is here. So for me, I hate leaving home and my hometown. As I say to my mom every time she sends me back to school, do I really need to go?
