• About
  • Advertising
  • History
  • Staff
  • Contact

The Andersonian

The Anderson University Student Newspaper

Anderson University’s Student Newspaper

  • Campus News
  • Audio
  • Features
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Video
  • COVID-19
You are here: Home / Opinion / Stop going home for the weekend

Stop going home for the weekend

September 26, 2018 by Guest Writer

Guest Writer: Elijah Neal

“Welcome back / Your dreams were your ticket out / Welcome back / to that same old place that you laughed about,” John Sebastian writes in his number one 1987 Blues Rock Hit, “Welcome Back.” 

It is a great road trip song for the eight-hour journey back to Georgia. It creates a nostalgic longing for my family, my friends and the well-kept roads of The South. I just want to be welcomed back to the place I know best. 

When I was a freshman, I wanted to go home a lot. I often thought about making the drive on the weekend, but I took the advice of Dr. Confer, my parents and some older students.

The first time I went home was on Christmas break. For approximately three months, I refused to journey to the muggy state I called home. In those three months, I connected to a great group of friends, I learned how to handle money on my own, and I grew my skill set. 

I am telling you this because I believe that you should not go home on the weekends. In fact, I challenge you to go home as little as possible, because that will lead to the most growth, and I want you to open your eyes to the beauty of Anderson, Indiana. 

The first opposing argument to mine is, “Home helps students connect to family.”

We need good family relationships. We need the love from our mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers when no one else loves us. Being in the presence of our families allows us feel the love or recreate the love that families can have.

I am not telling you to never go home, but you should go home as little as you can. Here are at least three things to try when going home as little as possible.

      You could call home in the middle of your busy day, you could ask your family to come up for a visit or you could wait for a break.

The next opposing argument is, “Home helps students financially.”

Families help us financially, and going home or living at home helps students out a lot; however, I still want to challenge you.

You have access to jobs and friends at AU. Please use them. Become a student leader or work in the library. Also, asking your friends for money is another great way to survive the college life.

The final argument is, “Home is where I am comfortable.”

We know home. We have lived there longer. No matter where your home is, it is easy to go home because people will welcome us back. I want to be welcomed back, and I want to be loved. 

Now I am welcomed back and loved in two places. When I come back to Anderson, I call it home, but that did not happen overnight. It has taken two years of not going home.

Why do I care so much about students going home for the weekend?

The first reason is that I have seen a lot of students drop out. Sometimes students cannot avoid leaving our campus due to finances or conduct, but I have found that the more you go home, the more likely you are to drop out.

It is a sad fact because I love Anderson, Indiana. We have great tacos, great people, great leaders, a great school and problems to fix. Let’s enjoy each other at CAB or campus ministry events, club outings and sports games. Let’s enjoy the great things and fix the broken things. 

Let’s make the city of Anderson our home.

Elijah is a senior Bible and religion major from Woodstock, Georgia.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Opinion

Watch

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Gillian Lintz interviews Dr. Sarah Neal about the current status of COVID-19 on campus and discusses the Boze Lyric Theatre’s upcoming play, “The Drowning Girls.” Mason Fridley provides updates on men’s baseball and men’s tennis standings.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

More Video

Listen

Sky Cramer

In this audio story, Zac Tallent speaks with junior cinema and media arts major Sky Cramer about his passion for film and photography and making the most of his time at AU.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

“Anything Goes” Encore this Saturday, April 23

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Fall Into Dance

Claire Mountcastle speaks with dancers Hannah Frick and Leah Pitman about the upcoming student-choreographed performance, Fall Into Dance.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

The Conspiracy

Claire Mountcastle speaks with senior Melanie Marchena and director of orientation and first-year experience Nii Abrahams about The Conspiracy, a newly-formed community of students created to support AU athletics.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

More Audio

Follow

andersonian Andersonian @andersonian ·
5 Apr

Check out the latest episode:
https://andersonian.com/2022/04/05/andersonian-2022-04-04/

Reply on Twitter 1511404967436988434 Retweet on Twitter 1511404967436988434 1 Like on Twitter 1511404967436988434 1 Twitter 1511404967436988434
andersonian Andersonian @andersonian ·
27 Mar

Student-created Instagram accounts cause controversy on campus.

Read more:

https://andersonian.com/2022/03/27/instagram-accounts-polarize-students%EF%BF%BC/

Reply on Twitter 1508168748573806602 Retweet on Twitter 1508168748573806602 Like on Twitter 1508168748573806602 1 Twitter 1508168748573806602
andersonian Andersonian @andersonian ·
23 Mar

Check out the latest episode!

https://andersonian.com/2022/03/23/andersonian-2022-03-21/

Reply on Twitter 1506671676725022726 Retweet on Twitter 1506671676725022726 1 Like on Twitter 1506671676725022726 1 Twitter 1506671676725022726
Load More

The Andersonian, the student newspaper of Anderson University, Anderson, Ind., publishes a print edition and maintains this website. As a matter of institutional policy, the University administration does not review or edit Andersonian content prior to publication. The student editors are responsible for both print and online content. While the administration recognizes the role of the student press on a college campus and in journalism education, the views expressed in the Andersonian are not necessarily those of Anderson University.

© Andersonian 2017, All rights reserved · Site by Mere