When you are a senior in high school, you can't wait to head off to college. You are ready to leave behind everything you've known and start a new adventure. But... there are a few things that you may have taken for granted in high school, things you never would have thought you would miss.

1. Surprise Purchases From Your Parents

Far too often I took coming home to a newly purchased bottle of mascara or my favorite ice cream in the freezer waiting because my parents went to the grocery store and “thought I would want some [insert purchased item here]” for granted.

2. A Fully Stocked Kitchen

I’ve seen my roommates make ramen noodles in red Solo cups, and I’ve cut bananas and apples with forks. A fully stocked kitchen to cook real “bacon” on, a pot to boil water in for ramen, and a knife to cut fruit with are something I never thought I would miss.

3. Real Food

Eating pizza four days out the week and owning no food that doesn’t require the use of a microwave gets old really quick. I miss real bacon, not the “bacon” the dining hall serves.

4. Lunch Dates

But don’t misunderstand me; I still miss late afternoon lunches with my friends or family at my favorite family-owned restaurants.

5. Pets

I’m in a group-chat with my family and they frequently send pictures of my dog, just so I can get my cute dog fill for the day.

6. My Bed

Memory foam pad or not, my dorm room bed will never have the same comfort -- both physical and psychological comfort -- as my bed at home.

7. Free Laundry

I already dreaded doing laundry while I lived at home, now I dread it because it is weirdly exhausting and costs an expensive $2.50 that I usually have to go out of my way to search for on bar floors, because I’m that poor.

8. Normal Water Pressure

The shower head is either misting on my body or power-washing my hair.

9. No Shower Shoes

I miss knowing who and what exactly have been in my shower and not having to worry about what bacteria my feet could acquire if I’m barefoot.

10. Your Favorite [Insert Emotion] Places To Go

There’s always those days where I’ve felt sad, happy, adventurous, or thoughtful and have wanted to spend it in that favorite park or self-discovered place of mine, only to remember it’s three hours away.

11. The Holidays

I wish I had realized earlier that in college, I wouldn’t always make it home for Thanksgiving, Easter, or family birthdays. There’s nothing worse than sitting at work on campus on Easter morning, knowing that at this particular moment I would be arriving to my aunt’s Easter morning breakfast.

12. High School Friends

I love the new friends I’ve made away at school, and I was so excited to make new friends while I was still in high school, but sometimes I just really miss the people I met and the memories I made during high school.

13. Siblings

Even after all the fights and times I screamed about how I couldn’t wait to leave for college, there are so many late nights that I wish I could walk over to my sisters’ room and just sit in silence because having silence while still in the presence of my sister is better than having silence without her.

14. The Smell Of Your House

It took me months away from my house to realize what that “scent” my house always had to my friends finally was. Now that I know, I miss that smell more and more every day.

15. Your Parents

I text my parents on a daily basis trying to keep them updated in my life when I once wished they would stop asking. I miss my dad peaking his head into my room and telling me to go to bed if it was past 1 A.M. I miss my mom walking toward me with open arms ready to embrace me when she knew I had a rough day. I miss their comforting smell and I miss the sound of their voices. For somebody who always talked about how much I couldn’t wait to leave for college, I wish for days spent at home an awful lot.