The idea of dorming at college is one that many people find incredibly appealing. When I was in high school, committing to college, I was so excited to live away from home and have some newfound independence. When I got to college, I realized that dorming wasn't all it was made out to be. Here's ten things you miss about home when you dorm at college:

1. Your Own Bed

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I swear when I'm at school, I dream of my own bed. Dorm mattresses are uncomfortable, and a mattress pad only helps a little. Not to mention the bunk beds! If you're as unlucky as I am and sleep on a top bunk, you probably get home and never take a bed you don't have to climb up to for granted. If you sleep on a bottom one, you probably think about the times where you didn't hit your head at least once a day.

2. A Clean and Spacious Shower

Stall showers make me feel like I'm in a high school gym locker room and not being able to move more than a couple of inches to the left or right is probably the most uncomfortable thing in the world. Scratch that, wearing your flip flops in the shower definitely is more uncomfortable. Oh, how I can't wait to take a barefoot shower again!

3. Waking Up On Your Own Schedule

So you've got a 10am class, but your roommate has an 8am. Guaranteed their alarm is going to at least temporarily wake you up. I mean it's not really their fault, but you can't deny it's a little frustrating when their alarm is going off at 7:30 and you thought you had until 9:30 to be awakened from your slumber.

4. Going To Bed When You're Tired

On this same note...it's 11 pm and you're exhausted, but your roommate has enough energy to stay up for the next four days. You don't want to make them shut the light and get to sleep, but at the same time you've been up since 8am and you're just ready to call it a night.

5. Home-cooked Meals

I don't care if your school has the #1 rated dining hall in the nation, you can't lie and say that there aren't nights you're just dying for your mom's meatloaf or your dad's burgers. Some nights the idea of going to the dining hall makes me physically ill, and all I want to do is sit down with a bowl of my dad's fried rice. Kids who commute to school, don't take your parent's cooking for granted!

6. Your Favorite Food Place

While on the topic of food, we can't forget our favorite restaurants at home. Some days all I want is a plate of home-fries from my favorite diner, or a slice of pizza from the best pizza place in town. Yeah, you can get these things elsewhere, but why would you want to when you've already had the best?

7. Doing Laundry At Home

I hate doing laundry at school--there, I said it. At my school, you have to drag your laundry all the way across campus to a laundry room where they charge you out of pocket, PLUS half the machines are out of order. Not only that, but the dryers never get it fully dry so I have to run them twice. Needless to say, this is a hot-button topic for me.

8. Having A Quiet Place

Sometimes you just need to escape and be by yourself, and your dorm room is never guaranteed to be empty. One of the best things about being home is being able to run to your own room, or your backyard, or somewhere to be comfortable and on your own.

9. Pets

There aren't many schools that allow you to have pets in your dorm, and even if they do it's usually aquatic ones. Being at school sucks because there is no friendly pup at the door to say hello to you, no cat to lay at the foot of your bed, and no hamster to be running on his little wheel at night. Even if your pets annoy you all day long, you still miss them when you're gone.

10. Your Family

Yeah, sometimes your siblings might irritate you, your mom might nag you, and your dad might yell at you...but at the end of the day, there is no one you love more than them. Being at school without them is never easy. They're my favorite part of going home.