It happens everywhere. Freshmen around the country cannot wait to go to college and, once there, they cannot wait to get home.

This is understandable. We all know the transition to college is hard. After the first few weeks we all started to miss our friends, family and, of course, home cooking.

However, it saddens me when I meet people that are so homesick they feel compelled to go home weekend after weekend. This type of attitude holds them back from so many great experiences.

Now you may be asking yourself, “What’s the big deal? Nothing happens on the weekends anyway.” And even if that was true, simply being away from home and being away from your parents will serve your benefit.

I should know, I just went home for the first time this weekend. But I don’t stay on campus just to get away from my parents. As a resident of Connecticut I think going home every weekend would run me a little over budget. But the fact that I can’t go home only makes me feel proud to actually be on my own.

Going to college gives you so many opportunities. Although earning a degree should be every student’s top priority, there are so many things to experience that do not involve academics, things that are compromised when you go home every weekend.

You lose independence. Although being independent is not as great as it seemed in high school, resist the temptation to go home because unless you plan on sleeping on your parents couch when you’re 30, you have to live without mommy and daddy sooner or later.

By going home every weekend, you miss out on meeting new people. It sounds cheesy but I have met so many people each weekend I stay on campus. Whether we met on my floor or we met at a party, many of them have become close friends of mine.

You miss out on a lot of fun by going home. I know that the most fun I have had in college has been on the weekends. You can’t do much when you have class in the morning. But come Friday night…well, that’s a different story.

And what about that chill time? I look forward to the weekends because they just give me a chance to decompress. With deadlines, homework and exams there is a lot of stress during the week.

Instead of going home, taking the time on the weekends to relax, watch a movie or catch up on homework gives you a physical and emotional break.

If you go home every weekend you miss out on all of that. Now, if you bring me back homemade brownies I will shut up, but if college is all about living away from home, isn’t it a little counterintuitive to go home all the time?

College offers a lot of valuable experiences. You paid to be here. Why not get your money’s worth?