10 Things About College You'll Miss on Break

There are a lot of great things about college - the level of independence that you get to experience - things that you lose when you go home for break. Sitting here in Virginia, I'm thinking about the things I miss about Boston and the MIT campus.

Read more for my list of 10 things about college you'll miss on break.

1. Going where you want to when you want to

If you are returning to the suburbs from the city, then you're probably missing the ability to walk wherever you want to. And maybe you've gotten roped into driving a sibling somewhere. You don't realize it while you're at college, but the ability to go where you want to when you want to without answering to your parents is really great.

2. Blasting music

Whatever the rules are for your dorm, I'm sure you've found the time and place to blast your music. Your home, however, probably doesn't have a place to blast music. And it's likely that even if you could blast your music, the commentary from parents and siblings would ruin the joy of airing your music out.

3. Cussing

I don't cuss that much, but I do relish the occasional swear when the moment is right. The moment is never right at home. Worse than that, if I slip out a cuss word a younger sibling will parrot it back a million times.

4. Seeing your college friends

This one is obvious. Even if you're in the same area, it's different to live with someone and see them all the time vs. schedule a meet up to get coffee. I really do miss seeing my college friends all the time and our little impromptu hot chocolate runs.

5. Avoiding the home-town politics

I found that college really changed my politics. I now have very different politics than the people in my home; even my approach to discussing politics has changed.

6. Getting tons of take out and snacks

Everyone knows that college kids eat a lot of snacks and take out. But when we return home, we get all sorts of sass for eating poorly. I don't think that the occasional snack is bad, but it's hard to convince the parents to buy it.

7. Waking up late

College might not start until noon, but the rest of the world wakes up to start at 9am. It can be a painful transition back to the early bird life, especially if you want to chat with college friends that live in a later time zone.

8. Leaving your room a mess

I don't think that I'm particularly mess but when I'm working on a project I do like to have my things spread out. Also, I'm one of those people that's opposed to making their bed. But when I'm at home, I have to make my bed and clean up all my things each night. If I don't there's a scolding waiting for me!

9. Wearing whatever clothes you want

I do love different gyaru, mori and lolita fashions, but no one at home knows what these things are, much less understands them. Even in the case of wanting to wear party clothes, there's really no opportunity. Work and family don't understand your clothing choices the way college students with similar interests do.

10. Academics

I won't say much about this but I think we all know that boredom starts to set in a few weeks after break starts.