Summer ends in less than one week and before you know it, you'll be back at college with all of your close friends. You can't wait until you can stay out late, go to parties, and not have to worry about what your parents think. You have complete freedom! As you countdown the days till your "freedom" is renewed for another year, you see the faces on your family. They help you pack up your bags, buy the things you need for another year, but deep down, they're really going to miss you. You can't help but realize that you're going to miss them just as much. You're going to miss coming home from work or summer class and having your parents have dinner ready for the whole family and talking about how your day went. You're going to miss you brothers nag about how they want you to play video games with them. You're going to miss the comfort of your own bed and waking up in your own room. You're going to miss your parents yell at you about how late you're staying out (yes, you're REALLY going to miss that) because you know its just because they really care about you.

Before you jump to saying you can't wait to have "freedom" and you won't have family bothering you almost every second of the day, take a moment to realize how much you're going to miss it all. Once you walk back into school, you probably won't be able to see them until Thanksgiving break and if you're REALLY far away from home, probably not until Christmas. Its hard to be away from people you've been around for everyday of your life. Things will be different and you'll regret not coming home early to have a family movie night or play board games with your brothers.

Personally for me, I've changed how I've spent my summer. I missed my family too much while I was away at college my first year. Instead of spending my checks on myself, I've done everything with my family: taking them on vacations to the dells, taking my brothers to see movies and buying them whatever they wanted, mall trips... anything to make them happy! Even just hanging out with them makes me feel happier and I forget that I'm leaving them for a while. Spending time with them feels like a weight is lifted off my shoulders and I have no worries in the world. They're my rock.

Saying good-bye is always hard, but I know me leaving will benefit not only myself, but my family. They're my motivated to do whatever I need to become successful in life. I'm going to miss them and for anyone who is leaving soon, spend as much time with them before you leave. They'll be happy and so will you.