Going home feels like a reset button. You get to sleep in your own bed, eat your favorite food, see your family and friends, and temporarily escape college chaos. But then reality hits: you have an 8 a.m. Monday morning.
Now you’re faced with the ultimate college dilemma: How do I go home, have an amazing weekend, and somehow return to Tallahassee before my professor starts taking attendance?
Don’t worry. I’ve got you.
- Convince Yourself the Drive Isn’t That Long
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When you’re excited to go home, Google Maps suddenly becomes your best friend and worst enemy. Only five hours? That’s literally nothing.
Five hours later, you’re asking yourself, Why am I still in Florida? Florida is huge. Like, unnecessarily huge.
If you’re driving home from Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, or anywhere else in Florida, remember that your trip may involve approximately 47 gas stations, three emotional breakdowns, and at least one “Are we there yet?” moment, even if you’re the one driving.
Make sure you bring snacks and hydrate; it’s incredibly easy to get dehydrated on your drive. Especially make sure you are still getting your 11.5 cups of water a day! Also, make sure to charge your phone, make a playlist, and don’t trust yourself when you say, “I’ll leave early.” You won’t.
- Become a Professional at Saying Goodbye
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Going home for the weekend means you have approximately 48 hours to see everyone you’ve ever met.
Your mom wants family time. Your best friend wants to hang out. Your high school friends want to get dinner. Your pet has decided you’re their entire world. And somehow, you also promised yourself you’d relax. You cannot do all of this.
Pick your priorities and accept that someone is probably going to say, “You’re leaving already?” Yes. Because Tallahassee is calling, and unfortunately, so is your Monday morning class.
- Eat Everything You Missed
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This is arguably the most important part of going home. Home-cooked food hits differently when you’ve spent the week surviving on whatever you can find between classes.
Your mom asks, “What do you want me to make?”
And suddenly you have a five-course Michelin-starred menu ready. Eat the food, take the leftovers, take the snacks, take whatever you can fit into your backpack without your roommate asking questions. College has taught us many things, and one of them is that free food should never be taken for granted.
- Do Not Wait Until Sunday Night to Leave
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This is where many of us become victims of our own bad decisions.
It’s Sunday at 8 p.m. You know you should leave, but your friends want to hang out. Your family wants one last dinner. You’re comfortable, your bed is comfortable, your pets are looking at you like you’re abandoning them forever.
So naturally, you say to yourself, “I’ll leave in like an hour.” Then, three hours later, you’re still home.
Now you’re driving back to Tallahassee at midnight, questioning every decision you’ve made since freshman year. Don’t do this to yourself. Leave Sunday afternoon if you can.
- Prepare for the Monday Morning Struggle
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Congratulations! You made it back to Tallahassee. Now it’s time to have approximately seven to nine hours of sleep in order to convince your body that you are ready to function normally.
Unpack? Maybe. Laundry? Absolutely not. Homework? We’ll see. Sleep? Yes.
Before bed, put your clothes out, pack your backpack, and set a bunch of alarms. Your first alarm is for waking up. Your second alarm is for when you ignore the first one. Your third alarm is for when you ignore the second one.
And the fourth is just there for emotional support.
- Survive the 8 a.m.
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The moment has arrived. It’s Monday morning. You’re tired, questioning your existence. You have coffee in one hand and your backpack in the other. But you made it.
You walk into your 8 a.m. class looking like you absolutely did not spend the previous weekend driving across the state and eating your body weight in home-cooked food.
And just like that, you’ve completed the FSU Home Weekend Olympics!
Going home during college isn’t always easy. Sometimes the drive is long, the weekend goes by way too fast, and coming back to Tallahassee can feel like a reality check. But sometimes homesickness gets the better of us all.
So go home. Hug your family. See your friends. Eat the food you’ve been missing. Cuddle your pets. Just remember one thing:
That 8 a.m. is still going to be there when you get back.