I have developed a habit here at Boston University in which I go home every two weekends. I do it for a number of reasons, the main of which is to do laundry. Sure, there are, of course, laundry machines at BU, but the other reasons I have for going home lead me to do my laundry at home. Home is a different atmosphere than college; there, I have more privacy and a better peace of mind. I can relax by myself to a Red Sox game, an episode of Law & Order, or play music and listen to video games without worrying about being respectful toward a roommate. Conversely, I can live for a couple of days in a week without having to worry about anything my roommate may do that might annoy me. This applies for any roommate, of course, because you can never love everything a roommate does. All the games I play are at home; thus, I get to chill out while I’m there and play games I don’t get to play during my twelve days at school (I spend twelve days at school and two days at home in a fourteen-day period). I get to sleep in my own bed, eat a home-cooked meal, see my family, and get away from the people here for a little bit.

Is this really a problem? Does this say that I have an issue staying away from my family? Or does it just mean that I need to dip into two separate worlds in order to keep my sanity? Next year, when I become an RA, this pattern will definitely change (as much as the person that incited me to write this post refuses to believe). I will want to do the best I can to serve my position, which includes being there for my residents for as many weekends as I can. Yes, I will spend a night at home every once in a while because the stress will be great and I will need a change of atmosphere to keep myself balanced. I find it to be perfectly human. I don’t feel like I should be attacked just because I go home every two weekends to relax from school. I work hard and I feel like I deserve a break every so often.

I can’t take that break here. I have to take it away from my work atmosphere. That’s at home.