People that don't go to Baylor probably will never understand why I actually miss Waco when I'm away. I don't necessarily miss the town of Waco itself (though it is not as bad as people may think). I miss the people. I miss the many friends I made in my first year at Baylor. I miss having three people who had no choice but to live with me. I miss being able to walk four steps to hangout in my best friend's room.
Your first summer at home is definitely an adjustment. You aren't used to living with your parents anymore, and you had just started making such strong relationships in college. Leaving them was hard and spending a summer without them is harder. Being home is good... but it's different. Sometimes you feel like you no longer belong in your hometown. You feel a little lost because you have a new life elsewhere. You feel too grown up to be under your parent's roof but not quite grown up enough to be completely on your own. After nine months of being on your own it feels as if you just took three steps back. Don't get me wrong I love my family, but it is just different. The friends you left in the summer are back, but you don't feel as close to some of them. The group you would usually hangout with might not even be the same.
I find myself constantly thinking about my Baylor friends and missing our fun times together. Those people have seen you at your worst and your best and care about you so much. Ironically you feel like these people are the people that know you the best. If you're lucky, most of your friends will be from the same state you are making visiting easier.
When you come home you're expected to get a job and do chores? What is that about? Your parents won't let you sleep past 11 either and that's just rude. In college it was impressive how late you could sleep on the weekends and you had all night to hangout with your friends on y'all's late night adventures. Now that you're home you have a curfew again.. but even if you don't have a specific curfew you have your parents over your shoulder worrying about you and when you'll be home. This is the first time you remember yourself being genuinely excited to go back to school. Only three months, right?
In the end, I know I'll appreciate being home for my first college summer, but for now, I miss Waco and everyone in it.
