It's Saturday and i wake up at 12:30 pm to my phone ringing. I swore i had it on vibrate. I rub my eyes to try to see who is interrupting the sleep that i desperately need. The contact name read "Coach" and i didnt know what to think. Bad call? Good call? Half-asleep i answered in a groggy tone,
 "Hey Coach, Whats up?"
He replied, "Hey Jake, i just wanted to ask if it would be ok for a recruit to stay with you guys tonight?"
Even though it was technically a question, it felt more like a statement. I knew there was only one answer i could give, so without hestitation i told coach that it would be fine and he could stay with us. The conversation went on a bit longer about technicalities and where to meet and meal tickets.

After i hung up the phone, i quickly searched for a bottle of water to sooth my parched throat. One thought kept running through my head, what the hell was i going to do with this kid all day. My roommate plays lacrosse and he has already had a recruit stay in our dorm. Lets just say it didnt go too well. I was nervous to discover how this day/night was going to play out. And to make matters worse, there was no brunch today. Very bad start to my saturday.

My roommate and i went to meet up with our coach in his office so he could hook us up with our recruit. His name was pat, he was from D.C. and seemed like a relatively normal kid. Throughout the day we tried to keep pat involved and active so he wouldn't get bored. We played xbox and basketball before eating and getting ready for the night's festivities.

The night started off well, but it would soon take a turn for the worst.

It was me, my two roommates, my roommate's two brothers, our recruit, and two more of our friends. We were walking down market street at about 11:30. Pat and my roommates older brother were slightly behind the pack, but i wasn't too worried about it. The recruit decided that he could hold his stream of urine any longer, and asked my roommates brother to watch the street for campus security while he went to the bathroom behind a parked car. Meanwhile, the rest of the group had no idea this was happening. Until we saw the flashing lights go on about about 50 feet behind us. Apparently my roommates brother wasnt very capable of watching the street. So one public urination charge later, we were sitting back in the room all asking ourselves why pat couldn't just hold it for 2 more minutes.

I had a bad feeling about the night from the moment i woke up to my coach's call.

Being home is very weird.

After a quiet cab ride through the rainy streets of salem, a 5 minute breeze through security and a 1 hour 15 flight (which i slept all the way through) i was finally back in Philly.

Seeing my dad waiting for me in the airport put an immediate smile on my face, we hugged as he talked on the phone, and i realized nothing has changed. He was the same man in a blue golf shirt, talking on the phone, in the same airport. I didn't even mind that we sat in 40 minutes of traffic, all that mattered was that i was home.

The first thing i did after walking in the door was go up to my room to see if anything had changed or been moved around. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that everything was in the same place i had left it almost a month ago. After hugging my mom and sister, and petting my dog, i sat down and did something that i had been waiting to do ever since i left for RU. EAT CHIPOTLE. I had been craving my steak burrito for so long and it tasted even better than i remembered. As my mom bombarded me with questions i just nodded as i chowed down on my food. After answering all the questions from every member of my family, i decided to take a drive around. It sounds a little weird but i just wanted to drive around town and see what had changed and what didn't. As i drove past my old high school i watched the cars pour out of the parking lot just as sports practices were ending and i reminisced on when that used to be my parents driving me home from football. Now, as i sit here typing this in my backyard with my cat on my lap, I am relieved to say that even as i progressed and run around with all of my college activities, everything in my hometown is just as i remembered.

One of my only worries about coming to RU was being in the mountains. I've lived in New Jersey for my whole life where its only flat land from the Delaware river to the atlantic ocean. Everyone always used the word "landlocked" and told me how people who are from the coast have a hard time getting used to not only the scenery of the mountains but the lifestyle that comes with it.

Yesterday I went to an early dinner at Macadoo's with a few of my friends. Stressed out about all of the accounting homework i had ahead of me that night, all i wanted was a buffalo chicken wrap with a side of chili cheese fries. While we waited on our food for what seemed like several hours, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation being held at next table over. An older woman was hollering to her table of eight family members about how "off the hook" their halloween party was going to be. This took me by surprise for a few reasons, 1. I had never heard an old lady say off the hook, 2. Halloween was a very long time away, and 3. I had never seen so much camouflage clothing, or less teeth, on a group of people. They were obviously locals and the type of people that you would expect to see in the mountains but i never thought i would see them here at Roanoke College, i felt like i didn't belong in this place. Feeling full and a little bit shocked, we walked out of Macadoos, and then i saw it. A sunset unlike anything i had ever seen before. Just above the mountains, the fluorescent ball of light sat. Creating an amazing mix of reds, oranges, and even purples. My friends and i started taking pictures and posting them on our various social networks as we walked back to our dorms. It wasnt until that experience, that i realized what a beautiful place the mountains of virginia could be.

Life is all about adaptation, and when you go to college, there are a multitude of adaptations you have to make. Eating cafeteria food every day, living without your parents, living in close quarters with two other people and living 7 hours away in a different part of the country. All of these were obvious changes in my life but one major difference went completely overlooked. Not having a car. I never knew how much i relied on it until now. Trying to make friends with people that have cars and having to pay people $5 for a ride takes me right back to sophomore year at Moorestown High School. Walmart is just out of walking distance and the worst thing in the world is running out of water or chips and not being able to get in the car and get some. When i was deciding wether or not to bring my car the only thing that i could think about were the 7 hour drives back to New Jersey but i now regret the decision. Both of my roommates feel the same way. So if its not me that brings the car back from fall break then one of my roommates will. After we have that, all of our problems will be solved. No more worries.