My mom picked me up on Friday evening. She drove, all the way up the hill, to the building I live in. I had packed all of the things I would need for the weekend into my bags. I had to bring my toothbrush, my clothes, my pillow… everything that normally would have been waiting for me when I came home before. I was coming home to stay for my first weekend since college started. School had only started a month before, but I still had only visited home for a few hours before now. I know a lot of people don’t have the luxury of their family being in the same town as their college, and I definitely don’t have it as tough as most. It still is different when you actually visit home for the first time in a while. There are a lot of things that change at home when you aren’t there, even in a meager month.

When I walked in the door with my bags in hand, the first thing I noticed was that my house actually had a scent to it. It was like when I would go to my grandma’s house and there was a distinct smell. I had never noticed this in my own home before, because I had been so accustomed to the way it smelled. But now that I had lived in a dorm for about a month, I wasn’t used to it anymore. The next thing I noticed (it would have been difficult to miss) was my dogs greeting me at the door with jumping, a lot of kisses, and adorable tail wagging. No one but my mom and I were home, so I got settled and waited for my dad. A little later, my dad came home and we left to have a great time at a town festival, where we enjoyed pulled pork, they had beer, and we enjoyed some conversation and live music. Before I moved to the dorms, I had seldom had a conversation with my dad where we didn’t argue, or where one of us wasn’t raising our voice. But that night, the only reason we raised our voices was because we couldn’t hear over the music. It was a refreshing change, that we hadn’t seen each other in a while; we missed each other. We had a lot to talk about and a lot to laugh about.

I went to pick my siblings up from their sports later, and since they are too cool, they put up a front like they didn’t miss me. I asked my brother later if he had missed me. He said “...kinda, yeah.” He proceeded to sound genuinely interested in my stories about college, and talk to me about how high school was going. When we picked my sister up, she said “why are you home?” as she got in the car. She acted like any given thirteen year old girl might act- like she hadn’t missed me. But for the most part while I was at home, she didn’t leave my side. I was surprised about how the sibling dynamic had changed in the time I had been gone. I’m not saying we didn’t argue or get into stupid fights while I was home, but it was different because I was able to recognize that they wanted to spend time with me.

No one ever can prepare you for what going home for the first time in college will be like. You try and imagine how things will be different, and most of us are aware that the dynamic will be a little different. It’s hard to know exactly how it will be until you actually experience it. The house gets arranged differently- when I came home, my sister’s stuff was in my room and my bed was now my brother’s, so I got to sleep on the couch. Your family might start eating tacos for dinner because they couldn’t do that while you were home. Your siblings might get used to not having a nerdy older sister to make fun of and joke around with. When you come to visit home, your dogs might follow you around constantly and act paranoid that you will leave. Mom will hug you as often and as close as she can, Dad will be so glad to see you and ask you about your classes and laugh with you. It will put a smile on your parents’ faces that you are home.

You will be so glad to use an actual shower where you don’t have to wear shoes. You can play your music as loud as you want. The food you eat is home cooked; you get to enjoy mom’s chili. Interacting with people who aren’t in college is a nice change. Having a dog to cuddle with at night is so underrated. The toilet paper is two-ply. There will be so many wonderful things about visiting home. Just the simple things will be so missed while you are at college.

Of course, there are some negative things about visiting home. Sometimes, there are changes from how much freedom you have at college. Your parents might be strict when you come home. You might even have to do chores when you come to visit. You might not have a bed waiting for you to sleep in anymore. Sure, there are things about coming home that you might dislike. But, as much as I like college, the worst part for me is having to say goodbye.