I'm not wasting my time, I'm not wasting money and I'm not wasting my "college experience" from going home on the weekends. The scarlet-knight life is bittersweet. I need a weekend long recovery from the constant hustle and bustle in New Brunswick. You can get your "college experience" during business hours Monday to Friday, but if you need a weekly tune-up like me, ignore the irrational stigma and go home.

I'm a proud family fanatic

There's just something about going home to people who are biologically programmed to love you (and Friday homemade pizza nights). My siblings are my best friends, my parents are my biggest supporters and we're all dysfunctional to the extent where we need one another to make us whole. If your close friends, loved ones and heart are all at home, why torture yourself by staying at school every single weekend? Us family fanatics cannot adhere to the negative stigma, it'll only dampen our fire.

Get the best of both worlds

You can have your independence, your "college experience," and your family time, too! You can replace the dining hall with homecooked meals, do your laundry without lugging it down 12 flights of stairs, and save yourself the headaches from weekend buses at home by remembering what it feels like to be in a car again. You can have it all.

Do it for the tune-up

Because the Lord knows us Rutgers students need it. The weekends are (suppose) to be meant for recovering from the bitter-sweetness that comes with being a Rutgers student. For me, this unregrettably only comes from the comfort of my filter-free family and friends, my hometown church, and my dad's Sunday feast, because in my house, Thanksgiving is every Sunday.

My roommates are great, I love my education and I love the hustle, but going home is a necessity. It's my weekly, mini vacation from reality, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

I'm not wasting my time, I'm not wasting money and I'm not wasting my "college experience." I just know what, and who, makes me the happiest. Keep your frat parties and I'll keep my sanity with my loved ones.