Being back home for the duration of summer break can be plenty of things, but it’s always an adjustment. Going from a University with thousands of students, easy access to fast food, party options on the weekend, and making your own rules, to being in a small town with very few friends home for summer, parent’s rules, and siblings around is tough to say the least.

With summer coming to an end, I have found myself slowly but surely appreciating the break, not only from school work, but from the hustle and bustle that is constant during the school year. I may not have known it from the beginning, but coming home for summer to the outskirts of this town has taught me how to stay humble and true to who I am, no matter where I spend the majority of my time – this town shaped me and helped raise me into the strong independent woman I claim to be. Summer break in a small town after being in, what some would consider a small town, but I consider quite a city, is eye opening.

At the beginning of summer, there’s a feeling of relief from school work but a longing for the time spent in your own space, doing your own thing, with nobody to tell you what to do or question what you’re doing. There’s a void on the weekends when instead of being out having fun, you’re stuck at home with literally nothing to do because the closest night life to you is an hour away. You text your roommates and friends constantly about how much you miss them and can’t wait to be reunited, although it’s only been a few weeks since you last saw them. As happy as you are to be back with your family, you miss movie nights with the gals, random nights out with your crew, the always classy trailer bars (RIPnon), and spur of the moment day trips with the roomies. The only thing that seems to keep you occupied is counting down the days until you’re back at school with your college friends and own rules.

As summer progresses, things begin to feel normal again at home. You’ve finally unpacked what seems like millions of boxes and bags and settled into a routine at home, stepping into your role like you never even left. You get in touch with some high school friends, and spend time with your family that you realized you’ve missed more than you originally thought. Although, at this point you begin to realize that you’re not away at college anymore and while under your parent’s roof, you’re also under their watch. There isn’t as much freedom as before, but also who needs it when you spend the majority of your nights binge watching Netflix? You also begin to realize that when you’re craving a cookout milkshake at midnight, you can’t just grab your keys and go on your merry little 5 minute round trip because cookout is now 15 minutes away and the parking lot is always full of people you went to high school with, some that you may not want to run into. So you settle on whatever junk food is in the kitchen and continue the Netflix binge while trying to find someone in town to hang out with for the weekend.

As summer days dwindle down and class paired with constant struggle approach, you begin to realize that you’re going to miss the small town you call home. Everyone knows you, you have free time that isn’t spent in the library, the community pool has become your second home, and you realize how terrible your cooking is compared to your mom’s. You start to enjoy driving the backroads, admiring the open fields and the stars that you can’t see with street lights around like when you’re at school. You’re content with not having to worry about what the plans are for the weekend, because you’ve found joy in sitting on your porch swing and reading, not for an assignment, but just for fun. You begin to cherish eating meals with your family, having homemade ice cream and having random family friends drop by and come in your house without knocking. You’re happy to have come from such a loving and close knit community where everyone knows everything about you and your family (sometimes too much). Although you’re excited to go back to having your own space and being with your friends again, you’re slowly realizing what you’ll be missing in this small town when you make your trek back to the college campus that you’ve spent all summer craving.

So if you haven’t already, I advise you to take a step back this summer and appreciate the little things that you don’t have when you’re away at college. Appreciate the conversation with your family, appreciate the slow pace of the small town, appreciate the back roads that may add a few extra minutes of driving time to your journey, appreciate the sound of nothingness surrounding you, and appreciate the fact that you’re lucky enough to be from the middle of nowhere. When you get settled in for another year at your beloved university, stay true to your roots that grow deep into that small town dirt you couldn’t wait to get away from, but don’t be afraid to go out there and give the big city some small town lovin’.