As my sophomore year of college comes to a close, I have begun to feel the same bittersweet feelings I had at the end of freshman year. There are conflicting feelings of being excited to go home for the summer, but of also being sad to leave the city that has become my second home.

I was very nervous first coming to college. Growing up shy, I have always been nervous in situations where I had to meet and talk to people I did not know. I made the choice to attend a school that none of my high school friends were going to, so I was very nervous about not meeting people. I imagined the worst scenario where I did not meet people and I would want to go home every weekend. But that did not happen. I met people right away, and then I gradually met more and more people.

In all honesty, freshman year of college ended up being one of the best years of my life. I made some really great friends, and had some unforgettable memories. When the year came to an end, I started to feel very bittersweet. I felt ready to go back home. I wanted to see my high school friends, my family, and my dog. But I also really wanted to stay. I knew I was going to miss my college friends so much. I felt sad when I walked out of my dorm room for the last time. It was not the dorm itself I was going to miss, but the memories. Walking out of that room made the end of my freshman year official.

Being at home again took some adjustment. It felt like I did not have complete freedom anymore. At college you get accustomed to going anywhere you want whenever you want. At home, though, I had to fall back into old routine of letting my parents know where I was going. The hardest part about going home was no longer having my friends live just down the hall from me. My college friends were from different towns all over the state, and I had to go back to driving to see my high school friends. Returning home made me appreciate just how nice it was to have your friends be so close. Eventually I got used to being home. I settled into a routine of going to work, seeing my old friends, and spending time with my family. But when the end of the summer came, I got really excited to go back to my second home.

My sophomore year ended up being a completely different experience than my first. Living off campus was so different than the dorms, and brought a whole new set of adjustments again. Although this year was different than before, I am still sad to be leaving again. There are a lot of good memories from this year, and I am sad to leave the friends I have made these last two years.