It’s the end of August and your Facebook feed is filled with posts about heading back to school. Everyone is boarding planes and gearing up for cross-country drives. Except for you. You know who you are. You slept in on move-in day because you have an easy hour-long drive to get back to school. You fill your car to the brim with clothes, books, pictures, and knick-knacks that you don’t need. You forget all of your makeup on the bathroom sink, and you don’t even panic. Why? Because you can. Your chose to school close to home, which to most people might seem like the worst thing in the world. However, there are some pretty awesome benefits to choosing such a school that people often overlook.
1. You’ve already acclimated to the weather. Whether it’s the dry heat of the Southwest or the torrential snowstorms of the North East, you know exactly what to expect because you’ve grown up in this climate your entire life. Think about all the money you’ll save on seasonal clothing compared to your friends. When winter comes, those out- of-staters are going to have to buy coats and boots which you’ve had waiting in your closet the entire year. Just try not to laugh too hard as they wanderaround campus all bundled up when it’s only 75 out.
2. You’re basically an expert on the area. Or at least people think you are. Maybe you haven’t been to this part of the state since you were in diapers, but who’s going to question the authenticity of their only guide to this new area. Just remember as you’re exploring your new city to occasionally shout out phrases such as “This street is soooo overrated” or “There is the cutest little Italian restaurant around the corner!” And if you ever get lost, don’t panic. Tell your group that you’re taking the route that the “locals” take. They’ll look at you as a god/goddess.
3. You probably have a car. If you live within a reasonable driving distance from campus, you probably rolled up in a sweet early 2000’s Honda Civic passed down from your parent or older sibling. However, there is no reason to feel embarrassed about driving a car that is exclusively driven by elderly women, because you are now officially the coolest kid on campus. People will knocking be on your door begging you for a quick ride to Target, or really any excuse to get off campus. Your friends want to go out to dinner this Friday? Well don’t worry about being excluded because you are an integral part of their outing. The only problem is you’ll always wonder if your new friends genuinely like you or if they’re just using you for your car. (It’s probably the latter.)
4. Homesickness is easily remedied. Everyone feels homesick at some point. Maybe you go to dinner and long for your mother’s homemade pot roast. Or you feel a tinge of sadness when you see pictures of your friends from high school. Or maybe you just want to use a bathroom that you don’t have to share with thirty other people. For most people, the only cure for homesickness is to get over it but then there are the lucky few who can hop in the car and spend the weekend at home. You have the best of both worlds. You get to be independent at school, but still have the luxury of visiting your loved ones. Your friends at school might give you a hard time for this if you’re traveling back and forth every weekend, but just remember that they are actually super jealous of you and wish they could sleep in their own bed on the weekends rather than on the bottom of a bunk bed.
Sometimes you might feel weird for wanting to stay local when it seems as if everyone else couldn’t get far enough away. Just remember that there are many good reasons to stay close and there is no shame in going home for the weekend just to snuggle with your puppy.