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The Value of Home As an Out of State Student

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Christina Ray
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Julianne Elizabeth Skrivan
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Utah chapter.

This Fall Break I took a stroll down memory lane back to my beautiful hometown in Denver, Colorado. Now you may be saying to yourself, “That’s great, but I don’t really care.” And while that is warranted and I don’t expect you to be interested in my trip back home, you should care about scheduling a trip back home for yourself because of what it can do for your college career and beyond.

1)    Homesickness is real.

Whether you’re in your first semester of college or you’re an old professional when it comes to college, we all miss home. Don’t lie. Most college students are very eager to get out of the house and have the freedom to make their own decisions. Once you leave, though, you realize that there really is no place like home. There is nothing like a home cooked meal. And there nothing like living without her to learn that your mom did so much for you in high school.   

2)    Affirm your passions.

Going home can remind you why you left in the first place, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a negative way. For me, home reminded me that opportunity lies here in Utah because I had exhausted my resources back home. It is finding clarity that you are on the right path or that maybe you need to change things up in order to be more successful that makes visiting home so inspiring. Every student wants to love their major and to be excited to join the work force in their field post-graduation, but possibly an even better feeling is to reaffirm your commitment to what you love. Home is often that best place to remember your passion, and more importantly, why you developed your passion.  

3)    Show your growth.  

Safe to say, it has been a while since you’ve visited home. Going home allows us to remember who we were in high school or even just six months ago. You get a chance to reflect on yourself and see if you like the changes you are making in your life and in your college career. The most empowering part of all of this is that if you don’t like who you’ve become and you miss the old you, you have the chance to change it. College is time for growth and exploration, but leave it to home to ground you in exactly who you are. You can always look to home for a little guidance.   

And if all else fails, you can catch up on some sleep and snag a few home cooked meals. Bon voyage, ladies.    

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Julianne serves in the role of Community Development Associate, directly working with chapters and expansion. She graduated from the University of Utah in 2018 with a triple major in Political Science, Film & Media Art, and Communications with minors in Health and Theater. Julianne served as a Campus Correspondent for Utah for 3 years, as a Chapter Advisor for 2 years, a Campus Expansion Assistant for 2 years, and as a High School Ambassador Advisor. New to Boston, Julianne can't wait to eat as much seafood as was deprived of her after living in the mountains for most of her life. In her spare time, she loves to ski, watch an unreasonable amount of movies, and write!