It’s the home stretch, the dog days of summer. Less than a month separates college students from returning to their dorms and resuming their classes. Moving back to campus is the only thing on our minds and, sorry parents, but we cannot wait to go back. But don’t worry, as excited as us “kids” are to be going back to school, we’re still sad to go home, even though we may not seem like it now.

I’m probably not the only person that has done this while being home for the summer—that thing where you get annoyed at your family at one point and end up shouting “I need to go back to school!” or something along those lines. In the heat of the moment it seemed like the best comeback, but it really just earned a bunch of laughs and eye rolls from my family members. However, the entire summer, although I was happy to be back home and done with the stress of school, that stress was something I was willing to deal with again. School has been the only thing on my mind the entire summer. I brought the subject up whenever I could –how much I missed my sorority, the classes I was excited to take in the fall, how I would be decorating my new dorm etc., but I found myself feeling a tad bit guilty whenever I talked about it.

My parents were so excited to have me back home, but all I could think about was leaving again. Is it normal to feel bad for being so excited about school, something I never imagine would happen in the first place? After a bumpy first semester away, I did not want to go back for the spring. But then I got involved on campus and started making close friendships, and soon I found myself feeling a little upset that I was leaving, and now all I wanted to do was get back.

Then I realized something--I shouldn’t be feeling guilty about this. I’m excited for the new semester and being able to go back to the life that I made at my campus. While leaving home will be extremely bittersweet for me, as I am sure it will be for many other college students this year, it isn’t something that should tear us up on the inside. This is the new chapter in our lives, the one where we leave the nest and debate on coming back or not. We have gotten a taste of the life on our own, and it is only natural that we all feel excited about it. Our families may be worried that we could be enjoying this new life a little too much, but they can rest easy knowing that we will still be missing them, at school, and wherever our lives will take us. Let’s hope that August goes by quickly, but not too quick.