As college students, our time is typically spent doing homework, studying, attending meetings, working, attempting to have a social life, eating, and, best of all in my humble opinion, sleeping. When we're not stressing out over the next assignment, or what happened on Grey's this week, or whatever else is going on, we're thinking about home.
We spend all term making plans for break and counting down the days until we get to pack up the car and hit the road. But once we finally get home, have a few quality meals with the family, and lay on the couch for a couple of days, we end up missing certain things about being at school.
Your Own Space
I love my family and my pets and being home in general, but there are times when I catch myself missing being able to lay in bed and watch Netflix while snacking for hours without being interrupted. I'm fortunate enough to even have my own bathroom at school, so it's kind of a pain to come home and remember that we all share the same sink and mirror. Call me an introvert (I am) but I really appreciate being able to have my own safe place to escape to for a while and I don't always get that while I'm home.
Having a Routine
My schedule kind of varies daily (to a certain extent) so I don't have everything planned out to the minute, but I at least have classes and meetings that meet every week at the same time and it helps my anxious mind rest a bit easier at night knowing exactly what I have to do and where I have to be at what time the next day. I don't do well having tons of free time to just lay around and say "Oh, I'll get to it later."
The Atmosphere
Your college town and the campus just give you that specific feeling. It's like a mixture of independence and belonging and nausea from the cafeteria food. Maybe it's not quite like that but you know what I meant. Your school and its city just have that extra something that your hometown doesn't and it's like taking a breath of relatively-fresh air every time you get back to it. It just feels good.
Friends (Obviously)
Okay, everyone very clearly misses their friends from school while they're at home, but it's still a fair point to mention. We spend a huge chunk of our time at school with the same people and realizing that you can't just go to the student center or Walmart with your BFF just because you're hours away or whatever really sucks.