I’m a junior at OSU and I live at home with my parents

Last summer, I moved out of the apartment I lived in during my sophomore year, and I moved to the one place I thought I’d never live at again:  Home.  With my parents.

I decided to move back for financial reasons – less debt by the time I graduate – and it was very late in the apartment-searching process, so my options were limited. Although I thought I was abnormal for this, I came to find that 54 percent of college students are living at home in order to save on costs.

Living at home is not as cringe-inducing as you may think.  Here are three benefits to it:

You get to sleep in a comfortable bed

A bed can truly make a difference in not only your sleep, but how you carry yourself throughout the day.  If you’re lucky to have a cozy bed to sleep in, chances are you’ll approach college like this:

Home-cooked meals

After feasting on the all-you-can-eat buffets of the dining halls and frozen/fast food, I’m grateful to eat home-cooked meals. I no longer have that aching feeling in my stomach after eating the General Tso’s at NoCo. One night I got to eat BBQ Chicken Sliders and cheesy tater tots. I couldn’t cook that if I was living on my own.

Puppies

I repeat:  PUPPIES!!!

Yet despite these benefits, they don’t make me feel closer to Ohio State. Sure, being 20 minutes away from campus doesn’t seem far, yet it feels as far as you can imagine.  I haven’t explored the Short North or the bars as much as I’ve wanted to. I’m one of the last people to hear about any big events happening on campus.

Last fall, Ohio State was becoming nothing more than the place I attended classes. It sucks, because I truly love going here, and it’s been hard to experience what everyone else is.

The other disadvantage is not having that roommate bond. In both the dorms and my apartment, I was incredibly fortunate to have roommates who were respectful of space and all-around cool people.  Whether it’s drinking horrible beer, playing Mario Kart until 1am, or talking endlessly about sports, music and life, your college experience can depend on who you’re living with. In my case, my current roommates watch HGTV and go to bed at 8:30pm.

“So if you don’t like living at home, then why don’t you move?” you might ask. Well, come to think of it, that’s what I’m wanting to do. I want to enjoy myself the most I can before entering the real world. But for now, I’ll do my best to keep the volume on the TV down.