Summer vacation has been about for a while now. While I know I should be living it up, I'm really finding myself being saddened by summer. It's a tough time because despite not having a super tough course load, I'm away from all of my friends.

In high school I struggled to find friends who were like-minded to me. It was hard to find friends who shared my values and my interests. I was never into partying or drinking or anything of the sort when for my peers that seemed to be everything.

When I got to college, I found that there was a plethora of students who shared my values and my interests and had great personalities as well. Immediately I began forming close friendships with so many wonderful people. It soon became clear that I never wanted to know a life without these friends. Having friends who genuinely cared about me was relatively new in my life. In fact, their being in my life changed me.

In high school I was the kid who kept to herself. I always had good relationships with my teachers and I was known primarily for my Christian faith and do-good attitude. So, yeah, I guess I was the annoying teacher's pet. Fast forward to college and I found my inner personality. I joined a step team, went to every social gathering, and spoke to everyone I saw. Where I used to be scared of judgments, I now found no reason to hide who I am. I know I owe a big part of that to the wonderful friends I've made at school.

In making such wonderful friends, school has become the place where I thrive the most. Coming home for the summer is something that I look forward to, but I can't help but feel lonely. I miss my friends. I miss having people to talk to or grab a coffee with at any point in the day. I miss having my fiance around every day and not having to understand the difficulty of distance. Home is a place where I feel isolated from those my own age. Most of my college friends are from different parts of the state or out of state, so meeting up with them is super difficult.

I love summer. I even enjoy my summer job and internship. However, I am so ready to be reunited with my friends next month.