When choosing colleges this time last year I had three guidelines for myself:

1. Get as far away from Myrtle Beach as possible, don't apply in-state at all.

2. Go to a Liberal Arts School, don't want to be mixed with people with "realistic career goals".

3. Be in a city, preferably a cold one.

Being eighteen with the promise of freedom in my grasp I went so far to chose a school a timezone away and more miles away from my mom then I imagined. Myrtle Beach never really felt like home for me, from the moment we arrived I had always felt like it was against me. I hate the beach for one, so why not move 10 minutes down the road from it. I also am odd and enjoying being cold.

Searching for warmth or adding layers to become warm always sounds better to me then wanting to shed my skin in the blazing heat. I had never felt like I had a solid group of friends until the end of my senior year and after struggling for two years prior to "fit in" I was positive I wouldn't miss it. But alas I did, I found many people and reasons to miss the place I had hated for so long.

Although Chicago is beautiful and I have never been happier there, most days, I miss seeing the stars. Walking through the busy streets counting building lights isn't as interesting as counting the stars in the night sky. Sunsets and sunrises aren't the same between large skyscrapers as they are over the vast beach.

You're not giving the same blends of colors and there's too much in the skyline to notice anyway. Although I enjoy the cold I have missed wearing shorts for two-thirds of the year, for the obvious reason of absolutely hating to wear pants. I am glad to have finally been able to experience another fall because watching palm trees shed isn't as exciting as the wonderful earth tones springing to life in the brisk October air.

Another reason I missed home is again in college you're the new kid, but everyone is. It helps quicken up the friendship process, but it by no means quickens the right people to come around. I missed those I left behind and choosing to be so far away was hard when I had only been in Ilinois to see Columbia and surely didn't know anyone in the state.

Luckily coming home has allowed me to see my friends because luckily they're mostly seniors now. Lastly, I missed working, serving in Myrtle was possibly the best job I had ever had. I love all my coworkers and I love the atmosphere the restaurant has established. Not having a job in college can be terrible for never having money to do anything with as well as, for me, feeling worthless by not having a place to work.

All in all, reasons I missed Myrtle Beach now will most likely change next year when my friends aren't there and I now have a job for when I do head back to college. I will always miss the vast open sky and the heat, within my limits, but I will be glad to be back home in chicago soon.