Things I Miss About College

1. People to hang out with. For a while, I told myself that I missed "having friends," but that's not the right way of putting it. I do have friends. They're just in Austin. Or New Mexico. Or Washington D.C. Or Colorado. Or Lubbock. Or even downtown, maybe 45 minutes away, where I really just don't feel like driving sometimes. Facebook and texting don't cut it sometimes. I wouldn't move back into a dorm if you paid me, but I do miss walking through my neighbor's propped-open door on the way to the bathroom and leaving two hours later.

2. Places to hang out. There's the Starbucks on 407, the Starbucks in the Barnes and Noble (where I work now, btw), and...that's it. Everything else in a ten-mile radius is restaurants and retail shops. Last night, I was talking to a friend I made at work (not to contradict #1), and we decided that since neither of us was hungry, we'd just get together another time. Also, everything closes at or before 10:00 p.m.

3. Privacy. Or maybe "independence" is a better word for it. My parents like to know where I am and vaguely what I'm doing every time I leave the house. It sounds overprotective, but really, the alternative is me just walking out the door without saying a word. With a roommate, you can say "I'll be back" and take off without anything being made of it. With parents, it's just a different dynamic - "Where are you going?" is as natural to them as saying "Good morning," even if they're just being conversational about it. I miss feeling free to do my own thing, I guess.

4. Purpose. I've said it before, I'll say it again, because I still believe it - this is the first year of my life that hasn't been planned out for me since the day I was born. Elementary school, middle school, high school, college...??? A college degree was my ultimate goal for about sixteen years, and now that I've got it, I feel like I'm living day to day. I need something to look forward to, something to work toward. I'm tired of just surviving.