Home for the Holidays

When Dorothy said, "There's no place like home," she wasn't lying! I have finally arrived home from college and I could not be happier! Things were really stressful the second half of the semester (exams, projects, roommate issues, and an infestation of scabies in my dorm building, just to name a few) so winter break could not have come soon enough.

I didn't realize how much I missed home until I was back. I had the house to myself for a few hours while my brother was at school, my dad was at work, and my mom was driving back from Florida, and it was wonderful. The first thing I did, of course, was get reacquainted with my dear dog, Maggie Moo. After copious amounts of doggie kisses (the best kind, if you ask me!) and belly rubs, I was able to walk around my house and take in the familiar sights, sounds, and scents that I missed so much while I was away.

The soft shag carpeting of my room, the smell of the detergent in the laundry room, the way the sun comes through the window just right and warms the floor and the buzz of the heater all welcomed me home. These things seem so small and inconspicuous, but these were the little things I missed so much. All these little details add up to make my house my home and I realized all the things I take for granted.

Being away at college gives you a new perspective on how nice your house is. In college, they shove you in a room the size of a shoebox with a stranger who may or may not be absolutely insane, they force you to share a bathroom with 20 other girls, some of which who have questionable hygiene standards (I'm looking at you, hall mate that threw up in the shower, the sink and the water fountain!), they feed you things like "beef fritters" and expect you to enjoy it, and if you get sick, you're on your own. That's quite the adjustment for an 18 year-old to make. I know the adjustment to eating beef fritters was particularly rough. No thanks! So, here's my advice for all my readers still in high school: enjoy and cherish every single shower you get to take without wearing shoes. Those showers are precious, and they are numbered. Trust me on this one.

“There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.” -Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
Kate xox