When thinking about going to college, you think about the stereotypical things that you will miss. A big bed, your friends, and the list goes on. However, what about your parents or local traditions? You encounter these things every day and for some of us, we have been exposed to the things we miss the most for our entire lives. The phrase “you don’t know what you got until it’s gone” is one that you find true when you are away from home for a long time. Here is a list of 8 things you never thought about missing until now.

1. Home-cooked meals

At first, getting pizza and cookies delivered to your residence hall at 3 am sounds like a dream come true. However, you find that to get old rather quickly. All of the times you lived for pizza for dinner instead of your mom making green beans and grilled chicken are starting to seem crazy.

2. Pets

We all expected to miss our pets, but not this much. Being animal deprived at college when we are used to snuggling up with them at home is rather tough. The person walking their dog on campus soon becomes the coolest guy around; everyone surrounds them saying “Can I pet your dog? What’s its name? Oh how cute. Wow, I miss my dog.”

3. Alone time

Being with your roommate is fun! Hanging out with classmates and friends create so many amazing memories. However, it is nice once in awhile to just have time to yourself. Back at home, I was a person who was always hanging out with friends and out doing stuff. I did not value alone time as much as I do now. Being able to just decompress by yourself is a thing I definitely have a different perspective of now.

4. Local restaurants/coffee shops from your hometown

Being from Cleveland, I have grown up with good local food. Barrio and Melt in Lakewood, Mojos Coffee in Bay Village, Common Grounds at Kamm’s Corner, Mitchell’s Ice Cream and Malley’s Chocolates, the list of amazing places continues. I never thought I would miss those places when I left for college but here I am craving a taco from Barrio.

5. Driving

Some people hate driving in the first place, so they will probably disagree with me about this point. Back at home, I drove all the time and now I don’t have a car on campus. Sometimes, driving felt tedious while running errands or going to work but, there’s something about getting in the car and going anywhere that I desire that I miss. It didn’t occur to me that what seemed like a chore sometimes was something I was going to miss.

6. Parents

Parents?! What? Yes, parents make the list because even though we don’t like to admit it, we actually miss them a lot. One of the most exciting things about being in college is being on your own away from your parents, but that doesn’t mean you can’t miss them. We often get caught up in saying goodbye to our friends from back home but don’t think about how much we will actually miss spending time with our parents.

7. Normal sized showers/baths

I did not think I would really miss any part of my bathroom but I really do miss my shower. My shower at home isn’t really huge, but in comparison to the residence hall bathrooms, it’s pretty large. Being able to put my leg up on the side of the tub to shave was something I definitely took for granted back at home.

8. Candles

Being a person who loves burning candles all the time, not being able to have candles at all while rooming at college is so odd. Of course, you can resort to wax melts or air fresheners but I still miss candles. The little plug in air fresheners just aren’t the same or as relaxing as normal candles. Who knew the 3 wick candles would make such a difference?