When my parents first told me that I would be living at home for college, I thought it would be awesome. I would only be about two miles off of campus and I would have my mom washing all my clothes, home cooked meals, and my own bed.

Since my two older sisters lived at home, it would only be fair for me to do the same. I thought that was a little annoying, but I eventually agreed that it was an equal decision.

But, after talking to all my friends about their living plans for their freshman year, I found out that about 90% of them are living on campus, in a dorm, or an apartment. My mood about the whole situation definitely took a turn.

I thought of so many things my friends would be experiencing that I would not be.

First, of course, having the whole "college experience." Before you are about to start college, pretty much everyone tells you that living in a dorm or on campus is part of the college life. So, of course hearing that made me think I would not be participating in the proper college life because I lived at home.

Also, I thought no one would include me in anything. Since everyone lived in the same area, it was easier just to knock on a door or yell down the hall to tell friends plans rather than remembering to pick up a cell phone and call someone. This was definitely my biggest fear because no one likes to feel left out.

Third, having to be a commuter. This was the worst. I hated this part. It aggravated me so much that I lived two miles away from campus and I had to park in BFE to walk to all the buildings for class.

Let's just say, it was not a good day when I picked my commuter tag from Public Safety.

But, besides all these stupid reasons I put in my head that not living on campus was the "worst thing in the world," after living at home for one year, it made me realize that it is not as bad as it seems.

I will be honest, always having clean laundry in your drawers makes college a lot easier. I would always hear my friends saying "Oh yeah, I just pulled this out of the bottom of my hamper, I haven't had time to do my laundry" and I would think "Ew, I have never had to do that."

Also, always having food (and by food, I mean real food, not PopTarts or ramen) in my kitchen made life worth while. Always having leftovers or hot food in my house was always a turn on.

And even after resenting my life as a commuter, I began to not mind the drive as much or the walk to my class. Both gave me time to wake up, drink my coffee, and listen to some good music. Now, I will be honest some mornings were easier than others to make the drive and walk up steep hills, but I now have a sense of appreciation for it, due to the fact that a lot of my friends who lived in dorms told me their walks to class would be almost thirty minutes. And I thought mine was long at 10.

Lastly, the dorms. After visiting some of my friends in different types of dorms, I thank my parents for not putting me in those tiny little rooms. I could not imagine sharing half of what seems like nothing with another person let alone one bathroom with a lot of other people.

Don't get me wrong, I loved visiting my friends and hanging out with them in their dorms, but when it was time for me to leave and go home, I was thankful to go back to my normal sized room.

Basically, what I am saying to all those commuters out there who live off campus your freshman year, you aren't missing as much as it seems. Honestly, think of it as a luxury from the beginning so you never have to worry about feeling weird or out of place. If you do that, living off campus and not in a dorm will seem more normal than ever and everyone else will be jealous of your "very large" bedroom.

And on the other hand, you always have somewhere to sleep on campus for those late nights, even if it is just a futon.