The summer after the first year of college is a whirlwind of emotions. You’ve just finished your first year of higher education, your first year of finals and all-nighters, your first year of living alone and feeling fully independent. For those of us who go back to our parent’s homes between the last day of finals and the first day of classes, we learn several things ranging from an appreciation for home-cooked meals to actually kind of liking your hometown.
1. Your high school friend group is not the same.
Many of us had one core group of friends that stuck with us all throughout high school, and we can’t wait to catch up with them and hear all about their freshman year antics. Sadly, the friends you swore would be in your wedding are now unrecognizably changed. They grew up, and so did you. You’ll always care about them, and you’ll still have your one best friend from home, but things just aren’t the same.
2. Never take a bed larger than a twin XL for granted. Ever.
The freshman year dorm size is a rite of passage, there’s no doubt about that. But for those with a full or queen sized bed, you will never go back to anything smaller (unless you’re living on campus again, in which case, good luck).
3. Your sleep schedule is probably really, really messed up.
Personally, I slept for about 14 hours after I unpacked the car. All-nighters and coming home at 3 a.m. might be the norm in college, but they really tend to take a toll on your body; especially when it’s 4 a.m. and you’re six episodes deep in Orange is the New Black.Â
4. Dining hall food is the worst, and you never should’ve taken home cooked meals for granted.
Unless your school is renowned for having great food (I’m looking at you, Virginia Tech), you probably didn’t have the best options for food freshman year. Which is why coming home makes us want to jump for joy at the thought of a fridge bigger than a mini-fridge stocked with food to make some home-cooked meals.
5. Your parents are actually the best to have around.
You might not have appreciated them in high school, and you may have wanted to move as far away from them as possible, but the summer after freshman year teaches you that having fully functional adults with their lives together is actually really nice. Whether you need to ask a question about how to pay your rent or just need someone to take care of you if you catch a mid-summer cold, you no longer need to call them because they’re right down the hall.
6. Driving/having a car is sacred and should always be appreciated.
For those that couldn’t have a car on campus, the reunion with your car is probably the best reunion of all. Nothing beats late-night summer drives with your best friends, or being able to get somewhere without Ubering or walking.
7. College parties > parties in that guy from senior year English’s basement.
Even if you rarely went out your freshman year, you still have at least some knowledge of how fun college parties and get-togethers are. This kind of spoils us when our options for parties at home include sticky basements, chats reminiscing on “the glory days” and being quiet in case the parents come home.
8. The guys from your high school are still exactly the same.
Be prepared for an influx of “When do you get home? Let’s meet up” texts as soon as you take your last final. A hometown summer fling might seem romantic, fun and easy, but in reality the boys from your hometown are probably just as boring as they were senior year. You might have done a lot of growing up between graduation and now, but that doesn’t mean Brad the quarterback did, too.
9. Obeying a curfew after a year of freedom is the opposite of ideal.
After a year of making spontaneous cookie runs at 2 a.m. and coming home from a night out at 5 a.m, it’s quite a culture shock to suddenly have to abide by your parent’s rules again. It’s an awkward time for sure, because while you may view yourself as an adult capable of making your own rules, your parents see you as their child living under their roof and therefore expected to obey their rules.
10. Your hometown is a really special, never-changing place.
Though some may not share this sentiment, the summer after freshman year teaches you how to appreciate their hometown. It could be quirky, racist or any number of things, but that’s the place that raised you and made you who you are. There’s memories sprinkled throughout that place; from the McDonald’s you would make midnight milkshakes runs, to your high school that still has pictures of you and your friends in the hallways. Your hometown, be it a commercialized suburb or big city, will always be a part of who you are.