1. Getting to spend time with the people you missed the most

There’s nothing quite like snuggling next to your mom, with your dog’s chin resting on your lap, just about to start a movie marathon on a Friday night. There’s nothing like no longer having the fear of missing out when you decided to take a trip home for the weekend, with the constant reminder from your school friends’ Snapchat stories showing you just about everything you’re missing out on going on at school. There’s something about knowing you have four straight months of this kind of relaxation, and the:

2. Barbecues & girls' nights

There is something that screams home when you're munchin' on s'mores around the same fire pit you, and all of your hometown friends used to gather around. There's something about getting together with the people you haven't seen in awhile to catch up and fill each other in on the separate lives you've been living.

3. Familiar roads

I bet you didn’t think you’d ever miss that long red light at the intersection of Auten Road and Amwell Road. I could probably guess that you did not miss the temptation to speed down Triangle Road after the road was paved. I know for a fact you didn’t miss the traffic that awaits you on 206 during all hours of the day, seven days a week. But it’s ok to miss all of this. In a short amount of time, you’re going to be met with familiarity again, embrace it!

4. Your favorite ice cream place

Being home is the perfect opportunity to pig out at all of your favorite comfort food places. Going to your favorite ice cream place again should be one of the main things that you're actually excited for.

5.Getting to go to your favorite summer concert venue

It’s not often you’ll find people who don’t love the smell of fresh cut grass under the same worn out blanket you’ve used and reused summer after summer in the same lawn seats you snagged last minute off of Ticketmaster. Getting to go back to your favorite summer concert venue is one of the best parts of going home for the summer. Whether it be a hot night where a cold beer is crucial, or a concert in mid May where you need to snuggle up with your friends for warmth, both are awesome because of your love for this vibe, this venue, and this artist

6. Getting to eat at your favorite hometown restaurants again.

Because who doesn’t love a bite of Angelo’s pizza or a fresh order of Garlic knots? We all know Applebee’s is a chain restaurant and there’s way too many to be able to count across this country, but there’s something so homey about the Applebee’s in Hillsborough

7. Getting to see familiar faces for the first time, in a long, long time

It was always awkward running into your ex-best friend’s ex-boyfriend’s mom in ShopRite, but there was something about those encounters that made being home, all the more exciting. Being home means seeing familiar faces, may they be the mother of the kids you babysit, or one of your old high school teachers, it won’t be as bad as you think it will be, and I can guarantee that they missed the possibility of seeing your face!

8. Home cooked meals

You should be so excited to sit around a dinner table again- and to not actually wonder if you’re going to get salmonella, food poisoning, or diarrhea from the garbage the campus dining facilities call your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. It should excite you to be able to converse with people who have a lot less stress and do not let their dinner conversations consist of complaining about particular professors and worrying about exams, bad grades, and how much time until an assignment is due.

9. Getting to hear your parents get home from work again

This is one of the most underrated reasons why you should be excited to be coming home. I may be weird for loving this one, but there are not many things that make me this excited when I’m home, and I may as well sit on the floor next to my dog running in circles waiting for the garage door to shut, and to finally be reunited with my favorite people once again. It also helps that I get to bombard them with the question, “What’s for dinner?” as they walk through the door.

10. Getting to sleep in something larger than a twin bed

We all know what it’s like to hear creaks as we rolled over on top of what looks to me as if it’s a plastic garbage bag stuffed with stuffing that universities across the country call “mattresses” but getting to sleep in your own bed definitely gets to be the best and my favorite reason to be excited to be coming home.