Returning to my sophomore year of college I thought the transition from home back to school would have been smooth sailing. In fact, I was more than ready to come back to school. My freshman year of college I was homesick for the first week at this new home away from home, but after that week I was completely fine.

By the time I came back for my sophomore year of college, I was clashing with my parents more and more. I could not wait to gain back the independence I had while I was away at school my first year. Unfortunately, I think I wished to be away too much too soon. I have been at school, for now, the fourth week. I am all settled in at my dorm, I am really loving my classes but I have never experienced being this homesick.

I miss my loud family and all the bickering. I miss the crappy smell of my hometown, the mushroom capital of the world. I really miss working. I miss seeing my dog get excited when my dad comes home from work. I hate not having my sister constantly yelling at or making fun of me. I miss hearing my brother scream at his video games. I miss my boyfriend. I miss spontaneous trips with my mom. I miss family game night. But overall, I just miss home.

Sure I can talk to my loved ones on the phone or my family can send me pictures of my dog, but it's just not the same. Not being able to see them until parent weekend or fall break is truly really hard for me. Especially because I am very close with my family and family is everything to me.

I try to keep busy and keep myself focused on school work, but at the end of the day, I still miss home. This year's transition has been the hardest one yet. I think since my

summer was so busy and packed full of work, I didn't really get to enjoy being home. I think I also wished for summer to be over and it by quicker than I ever expected. It is hard to go from an everyday norm at home to try and find a new daily norm at school. You try and keep busy by joining clubs, going to events and maybe even working, but homesickness will sink in when you least expect it to.

This past weekend all I wanted to do was lay in bed and cry. I think sometimes it's almost necessary for this to happen. It sucks to feel this way, but I think if you feel it all for a day or two, it is better than hanging on to it for a while and have a lingering cloud over your head. It was also really easy to beat this homesickness due to the amazing friend and support group I have at school. They made sure to get me out of my room and cheer me up when I needed to the most.

I think no matter how ready you think you are to leave home, you will always get some form of homesickness. No matter what, at any age, you are always going to need a hug or hear the sound of your parent's voice. You're always going to need to travel back home to your roots.