Even though home is only a short drive away from my college, living on campus makes it feel as though I’m in a whole other world. Living on campus allows me to be more involved and settle into the year faster, but it’s always surprising to come home even when it’s so close.

Returning home mostly means that you get to see all your old friends from high school. Reuniting after having a whole semester of separation can be exciting, and it’s always something that I look forward to in order to keep me going through finals week. Having the whole summer to hangout with some of the people you missed the most during your time away is a relief from the constant homework and hustle of college.

Additionally, pretty much everyone else is still in school. At least in Florida, I know that my return home, which is always early May, is going to be at least a month earlier than the high schools’ end. This means that a lot of the time I’m coming back to a somewhat empty house. Whenever I visit my dad everyone is either at work or school, so I have the whole house to myself the majority of the day. While this can be a nice break to have, it’s always better when there are people present to busy up the house.

Summer plans should also be something both to look forward to and to create. While the majority of people say that they plan to sleep and watch Netflix all summer, this shouldn’t be your only “goal.” I love when summer rolls around because it gives me so much more free time. Homework, clubs, and Greek life keep me so busy during the semester that I never have time to really do anything for myself.

That’s why this summer I’ve got a list of books I want to read, a goal of exercising every day possible and I must get ready to study abroad this fall. While it doesn’t seem like much, this small to-do list keeps me distracted on days when my friends can’t hangout and I’ve got nothing to do. My favorite thing about summer plans is that it is completely up to you. You don’t need to keep in mind the needs of homework or clubs, you just get to think about whatever you want to do and then make it happen. Simple enough.

Lastly, returning home is great considering you get to see your family again. I rarely got to see my parents because my schedule was so busy during the semester, and my brother was all the way in North Carolina. Summer means, for most people, that you get to return to your family. While it can be weird to live somewhere with restrictions after being on your own all semester, it’s nice to be somewhere with good food and laundry machines that aren’t broken.

Even though I already miss being in my dorm and all the friends I have from Rollins, I’m excited to have a few months where I can plan my own schedule and catch up with the people I’ve been missing all semester.