Imagine

You and your friends are all sitting at the coffee shop at your university. Spring break is just weeks away. It feels like it came so fast and also like you have been back at school for years at the same time. If you're like me, you haven't been home since winter break. With spring break fast approaching, you get more and more excited (and a little sad to leave your friends for a week). You and your friends are just enjoying your coffees when one of them asks if you're excited to go home. One of two things usually happens:

1. You respond "Yes, I'm so excited to go home"

Telling this to people is usually followed up by questions like: "Do you not like it here?" "Are you not having fun?" "Why don't you want to be here?".

The problem is, my excitement to go home has nothing to do with how happy I am at college. I love my school. I'm a part of greek life as well as other service clubs and am a frequent fan of the sporting events. I'm just excited to go home and see my hometown and family for a short week and then to come back to college.

I'm excited to go the beach, and In-N-Out and to drive around my small town taking in the sights that I haven't seen in too long. It's different. It's home

2. Scenario 2 is when someone brings up that they're excited to go home because they are homesick. I have missed my family and friends at times (especially birthdays and holidays that I have missed) but I can count on my hand the number of times I've been truly very sad/homesick. This also met with questions of "Don't you miss your family" "Why do you not want to go back?"

Again, I do miss my family and I am excited to go back but I genuinely enjoy college. I know have a great support system waiting for me when I get home. I know my family will be there. My town will be there.

I try not to get so wrapped up in the past that I can't fully enjoy the present.

Not going home every week has built my excitement to actually go home as well as allowed me to have great adventures and to have deep bonds with all the people I love here.