Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is around the corner. Whether this is your first time going home or you have managed to make it home multiple times this semester, you will realize, or probably have realized, that some things just aren’t the same since you have left for college. For some, they feel disconnected from their families. Maybe their room was turned into the new family workout room or the friends they knew and loved in high school don’t seem to share any of the same interests anymore. But for most college students, especially first years, I think one of the hardest lessons to learn on their first visit back is that life goes on without them.
Just as you have been off living your life, going to bed whenever you want, enjoying the college party scene, attended or skipping class whenever you feel like it, your parents, siblings, and friends have done the same. Not to say that most of us are self centered, but I think many people forget that while they are important to their loved ones, they are not the center of attention.
So how do you deal with this epiphany? In my opinion, half the battle is simply understanding that when you go home things will have most likely changed, and isn’t that for the better? Nobody wants to go through a year, let alone a couple months and be able to say, “I’m the same person I was 3 months ago”. Progressing in your life, career, goals, and as a person is important, so instead of fighting the change that you see, embrace it! Just as things have changed around you, so have you. It’s the beauty of college and growing up. So show off the changes that has taken place in your life to your friends and family as you discover the ones that have taken place in theirs.