Many seniors dream of going to college far away, of escaping their hometown and going somewhere new and exciting. "Getting away" was never something of importance to me, however I never once thought I would go to a college 15 minutes from my house. While my circumstance is not what I had envisioned, it is not something I regret, because there are many perks to going to school close to home.
1. You don’t have to change radio stations.
If you’re a big music enthusiast like me, this is huge. I love my favorite stations, specifically 107.1 The Spin which I can’t get on iHeartRadio. Being close to home I don't have to spend precious car ride minutes scanning for a good station unlike my poor out of town peers.
2. You can pop home for a quick home-cooked meal.
College food gets old fast, and nothing they make can match Mom’s cooking. It’s so nice to just go home for a free and delicious dinner on a random Monday night and then go back to school and live it back up with your friends.
3. You can keep your job.
Despite the above gif's sarcasm, I do have a job that I like with a super cool boss. More importantly, a $3 muffin here, a $5 smoothie there, a cute $25 sweatshirt in the school store, it all adds up fast. Being close to home allows me to fill in at work from time to time and make some quick spending money.
4. Your dog doesn’t forget you
I apologize to all the people whose hearts hurt reading this, because I know it must be terrible to be so far from your pups. I space my home visits perfect so that my dog knows who I am when she sees me coming to the door but is still so excited to see me. She runs all around and gives lots of kisses, and it is the best thing ever.
5. You have an easy way to escape the college stress.
One afternoon my dad picked me up, took me to lunch, and then brought me home where I napped on my own couch with my own dog for two hours and then went back to school. Some weeks, college is easily just as hard as a 40 hours a week job, and a visit home for a bit it is the perfect cure to relieve all the stress.
6. You never run out of snacks and supplies.
My mom just adds what I need to her grocery list, just like at home. On the way back from the store, she only has to go a little off the path to drop stuff off to me at school. She gets to see me, I get snacks and shampoo, everyone is happy.
7. You get to be the tour guide for everyone else.
The area of my school is where I go for everything when I am at home and where everyone is going now that they are at school. Someone needs directions for how to get to Target, I get a free ride to Target. My friends want to go out for dinner, I know what’s good. Fun stuff.
8. You don't have to change doctors.
This is one I feel that a lot of people do not think about. When you're sick or need your flu shot, it is just really nice to go to your doctor who knows you and have them take care of you. Even better, you go to your regular pharmacy to get your medicine and prescriptions. It's funny; I am actually closer to my general doctor and dentist at school than I am at home.
9. You don’t have a long travel time for breaks.
Some of my friends have to take a 8 hour bus trip to get home from school, not even talking about international students, and that is practically a whole day of break spent traveling. The option they are left with is either less time spent home on break or skip some classes the day before breaks start to make up for the time they would lose. Luckily for me, I just go home after classes are done with before breaks start and then back after dinner before classes resume again.
10. Your friends from high school come visit you when they come home.
Everyone’s break schedules differ, but when your friends are going home for the weekend, they can easily swing by and see you, too.
11. Your friends also get a home to go to.
My friends love the chance to take some time off campus to get a good meal and good company. Just the fact of being in a home makes a lot of people feel good, so it is super nice to be able to give that to my friends at school.
12. My favorite perk to living close to home: you do not have to miss family events.
I love my family more than anything, and being so close to home allows me to not have to miss things that are important to them. Rib cook-offs, birthdays, my cousin’s first prom -- I don’t have to miss any of this because I am at college.
The best thing of all is I still get the college experience. I am off on my own living and learning at college, making friends and being my own person. I am not home all weekend every weekend, but if I wanted to be, I could. In 15 minutes I’m home, another 15 and I am back to school. I literally get the best of both worlds.
