It wasn't until I came home from Thanksgiving break this semester that I realized going home was a week-long getaway for me.

I used to think of leaving school to go back home to my family for a long weekend was "going home." Now, it simply feels like vacation, and I know when I get back to school that it's time to snap back into reality and get back into my daily routine.

Here's every other reason college is my home now:

1. Family & Friends

Being home used to mean balancing work with my social life, but now it means spending as much time with my family and friends as possible while binge-eating my mom's best home cooked meals because balancing work with my social life is something I only worry about now when I'm away at school.

2. Your Eating Habits

Freshmen year I lived off Ramen Noodles and Mac 'n' Cheese because I had no kitchen, no groceries, and no idea how to cook myself a decent meal. I would look forward to going home to eat "normal" food again, rather than splurging on pasta and ice-cream sundaes from my college's cafeteria. Now I splurge when I go back home to my parent's house and crave an intense detox when I get back home to school to recover from my unusual eating habits.

3. Feeling Like An Adult

Now that I'm used to having my car down at school with me, and enjoy the privilege of living off-campus in my own apartment and paying my own bills, I go on throughout my day eager to get home and put my feet up for once. I don't think about three months from now when I'll be home again to relax, but rather find comfort in my own apartment decorated in my taste, with my roommates and our dog.

4. New Residency

Along with having my car down here for well over a year now is having perfected getting myself around town. I finally feel like a local; I know where all the short cuts and detours are, where to park to avoid tickets, how fast I can go on which roads, and what times to drive out of and into the downtown area. But when I go "home" and get behind the wheel, I'm suddenly lost and forget the quickest route to the grocery store or my Grandma's house.

5. Alone time is rare.

When you're home you can call up a friend at any time to see if they want to hangout for a bit, or grab a quick bite to eat. When you're visiting family in a short period of time, trying to see everyone before you catch a plane ride home seems more like a chore than an invitation. Going home I have to be strategic and time out how long I have to see my parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, and friends to the point where it's actually exhausting. The longer I've lived away from home the less time I have to spend on my own when I come to visit.