Most people who are enrolled in a university far from their home know the feeling of liberation and freedom that comes with moving into their very own dorm or apartment. Moving away from home to start a brand new life is a milestone that most people reach in their life. I know for me, it is one I will always remember. Although there were tears and heartfelt goodbyes, I knew that moving away to attend UCF was something I had to do for myself. And I thank the heavens every single day that I did it.

But, now here we are! Two (extremely difficult, exhausting, emotionally-demanding, endless) semesters later, I am entering my first summer semester at UCF - but first, I had to come home to spend time with family before summer classes ensue. Now, to be honest, I was not absolutely looking forward to going back to my hometown. I feel as though UCF is my true home now, considering I've lived there for the past 8(ish) months, made friends that will last me a lifetime, and have all of my personal belongings in my dorm.

However, I knew that going home was just one of those things that had to be done. Plus, I just had to look on the bright side: home-cooked meals prepared by someone other than myself, laundry done by someone other than myself, groceries bought by someone other than myself... you get the gist.

The closer the time came for me to go home, the more excited I became. I love my mom, and I hardly ever saw her throughout the previous two semesters, so this would give me the opportunity to spend much-needed time with her. I had childhood friends that I knew would be as excited to see me as I was to see them. I would be able to go to restaurants back in my hometown (Sushi Sake! Blue Ginger!) that were not in Orlando, and simply would never be topped.

It wasn't until I was in the car on the 3.5-hour drive that I realized going home would be a much-needed break from college. Is college fun? Yes. Is it the best time of my life so far? Yes. But does it take a toll on you? Absolutely.

Going home tends to help me reevaluate myself and come to grips with reality. It's easy to forget the outside world when you're in your own university bubble, having a great (and sometimes downright awful) time. Going home helps me relax my mind for a little while, which is definitely something all students need from time to time. I didn't realize how fried my brain actually was until I pulled into the driveway of my house and nearly began to cry from how overwhelmed I was.

Now here I am, in the bed I slept in throughout all of high school, in the bedroom I used to slave over homework and projects in, in the house I had lived in since I was an infant, in the city I grew up in. Although I've only been back home now for a few days, I can honestly say my head doesn't feel like lead anymore - amazing! And I couldn't be any happier.