I went home last week for the first time since August. It is really true, that cliche about never knowing what you have until it is gone. Boy did I not know what I had until I was out of there. I never realized I had parents who payed for everything, clean bathrooms, and most importantly a circle of friends that's bonds were so tight no one could break them no matter how hard you tried. So yes, being home was weird when all of the things you associate with your home are now gone or different.
Now, don't get me wrong, college life is great, no one checks up on you, no one cares when you're home...no one does your laundry, no one makes you eat healthy, and one wrong step could have people judging you from here to Timbuktu. Alright, so maybe I am just adjusting to school a little bit differently than everyone else, but hey what can you do. After all when you come from a place as beautiful as I do then how could you forget it so easily?
Which brings me to the topic of my friends, they are beautiful in themselves. I absolutely love them to death, in fact, two of them are here at college with me...which helps take the edge off the six hour drive home. But our network of friends were so close and so accepting (once you were in that is).. that it is hard to imagine spending so much time away from them and then simply replacing them with new people- what if I don't want to make new friends? Okay I know that is not the attitude... but still.
All I am hoping after all this is said and done is that I can remember and hold on to all of these memories. And for all of you not yet leaving home and saying that you can't wait to get out of there (trust me i said it a million times) don't be so quick to throw it away, cherish it, make the most of it because you will soon realize how fast life is moving and those are some of the best times of your life.
