There were so many points during high school when I wished for the four years to go by so I could be an adult and live on my own in college. Of course they did, and when I graduated I was so ready to start my new life in a new place. For the first couple of weeks of college I was glad to be out of high school, but slowly over time I started seeing that I was missing my old life back at home, before college.
After being in college for three months now, there are so many little things I miss about living at home and going to high school.
Even though it’s great being able to sleep in because of my later classes, I miss getting up at the crack of dawn to go to school. Sounds crazy, I know. But the normal routine of getting up and hearing my annoying alarm clock, eating my cereal, and having my mom pick up Dunkin Donuts for me on the way to school is something I miss the most. It became a normal routine for me during my four years of high school, and it was something I had a hard time letting go of.
I miss the Sunday nights before a normal Monday morning. Again, sounds crazy, but I miss waking up to pancakes and remembering that I saved all my homework for the last minute. I miss watching The Patriot’s game with my family in the afternoons. It’s not the same watching it alone in your dorm room! I miss my mom making pasta and meatballs, yeah college food is great and all, but there’s nothing like a home cooked meal.
I miss the Friday nights. College is fun because Friday nights here mean parties, but back at home, Friday nights during the fall meant watching my school team play football, or watching our basketball team cream our arch rivals during the spring. It meant either pizza or Chinese food for dinner. It also meant being able to have crazy sleepovers with my best friends, driving and blasting music in the early hours of the morning and screaming at the top of my lungs.
It’s great to have so much free time in college, but I miss being busy all the time and doing things. Of course, back in high school I was in school from eight in the morning till three in the afternoon, an actual schedule that's the same every day. But I miss walking the halls and seeing my friends, and I miss eating lunch with them. I miss study hall. I miss how my high school made such a big deal out of homecoming; the hall decorating, the class skits, and of course the homecoming football game. I miss the horrible school dances and the horrible music they played at them, I miss seeing everyone's prom dresses on the Facebook page and the prom posals, and prom itself.
Yes, I get to come home for the holidays, but it's still not the same. Experiencing family decorating for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and especially Christmas is something you will remember for the rest of your life and when you're college you don't get to see the pumpkins, the lights, and the tree go up. The most exciting thing is having your name tags on your dorm room door change to Christmas trees.
I miss being able to come home after school every day; see my sister, my parents, and my cat, and lay in my bed. There’s nothing compared to the room your grew up in, and the memories that still hang all over your walls. And of course, seeing your pet and family over and over again on FaceTime instead of coming home to you hurts in a way.
I was so excited to come to college, and I absolutely love it here. But that doesn't mean that I don't miss my old life back at home when I was in high school. And I know being in college away from your family and friends means that I'm growing up whether I like it or not, and I'm soon to be in the real world. I'm especially glad that I get to have the memories I made back in my home and at high school in my heart for the rest of my life.
