Summer is a time for relaxation, catching up with friends from back home and relearning how to live with your parents instead of people your own age. While living at home definitely has its perks, you may find yourself desperate to get back to college by the end of the summer. Here are the pros and cons of living at home for the summer:

1.) Having home-cooked meals

Pro:

Finally, something other than Top Ramen, mac n’ cheese and dining commons food! A year of eating pound after pound of potatoes and packaged dinners will have you almost begging for Dad’s “Chef’s Surprise” or Mom’s homemade chicken soup.

Con:

However, there will probably be a sad lack of your usual supply of junk food. Where are the bags of Hot Cheetos glowing from inside the common room vending machines? Where are the towering cans of energy drinks urging you to finish that paper? Where are the free slices of pizza that are used to draw people in to every event? Your body will probably welcome the break.

2.) Seeing people from high school

Pro:

Summer is the perfect time to catch up with your BFFs from the pre-college years. It’s probably been kind of weird not seeing their faces every day after four plus years of eating lunch under the same tree and being crammed like sardines into sweaty public school classrooms. And while you may be spread out all over the world now, the years and years of potential blackmail material will keep the bond strong.

Con:

However, you will undoubtedly run into that one person that you never wanted to see again. Maybe you were in the same friend group and had to hide your secret hatred for them, or maybe they were your embarrassing first kiss, or maybe it was just that kid that never showered and that you had to sit next to for 12 years because of freaking alphabetical order. Regardless, each encounter will either result in five minutes of awkward small talk, or you hiding in the tampon aisle at the grocery store and pretending not to see them.

3.) Having your own bathroom

Pro:

If you were living in the dorms last year, you probably know the struggle of sharing a bathroom with up to 60 other people. Being home means that you finally get some privacy and can be secure in the wonderful, wonderful feeling of knowing that the hair in your drain does not belong to that weird kid from down the hall. Added bonus: No shower shoes!

Con:

However, the nice thing about sharing a bathroom with 60 other people is that it got cleaned every day. (If they didn’t, that place would be worse than a port-a-potty on the side of the road in no time). Now you have to clean up your own dried toothpaste in the sink and fetch your own toilet paper from the garage. It’s a small price to pay for non-communal bathrooms.

4.) No drunk people outside your window every night

Pro:

Being back in suburbia significantly decreases the likelihood of drunken party-goers staggering past your window at 1:00 a.m. proclaiming their fuckability and love of vodka to the world. No thumping bass shaking your walls while you try to study, no hall-mates slamming doors and puking in the bathroom, just silence.

Con:

It’s weirdly quiet. Like the “I can’t get to sleep because the world must’ve ended it’s so quiet” type of quiet. Then a dog barks or you hear cats mating outside your window and it feels much more normal.

5.) Not having a roommate

Pro:

The only mess you have to worry about is your own. Dirty underwear didn’t quite make it into the hamper? Not a problem. Half empty water glasses everywhere? Not a problem. The space is yours. You can watch Netflix without headphones, keep the light on as late as you want and sleep without the background sound of your roommate snoring.

Con:

Living with a roommate can be like having a sleepover every night: kind of exhausting and annoying, but fun at the same time. There’s no one immediately available to laugh at your stupid jokes, discuss in minute detail what snacks you should eat and debate the pros and cons of taking a shower now or later with.

6.) Living with your parents

Pro:

Being away at college, you learn to appreciate your parental unit and all that they do for you. In fact, you may miss them a whole lot when you’re drowning in papers, haven’t eaten anything of nutritional value in a week and can’t find your other shoe. Seeing them every day again can be really nice.

For about a week…

Con:

Not living at home means that you don’t have to tell anyone where you’re going and when you’ll be home. The only people you have to answer to are your roommates, and what are they going to do? Ground you? You don’t have to hide your hangover the next morning, or find places to stow away whatever illegal paraphernalia you may have acquired in college. You don’t have to ask to borrow the car or succumb to the “you don’t have a curfew, but I would like you to be home by 11:00 because I worry if you’re out too late” guilt trip. Asking for permission is a habit you’ve probably fallen out of. But one fight with Mom about where you went last night will have you whipped right back into begrudging shape. Just remember how much you miss your family while you’re away.