What's it like?

There is something I'm curious about, but will never know through personal experience, so I'm putting my curiosity out here for all to see.

No longer would I consider myself a traditional college student: I'm no longer straight out of high school, I'm married, a homeowner, and a mother. While I am completely happy with where I am and wouldn't change a thing, that leaves me without a clue what it is like to have what I will call an immersive college experience.

I'm really curious what it is like to live on campus, perhaps in a room with someone you've never met until move in day. Dorm life. Spending a majority of your time on campus and attending whatever events you want because you can and they're a form of entertainment for you. To participate in clubs, groups, organizations and traditions.

You may be thinking, "you can still do a lot of those things," which is true, but it is a 45 minute drive to campus, and if I don't absolutely need to go up there-I don't. Not only because of the time and drive but because I hate to leave my son if I don't really need to.

So what is that experience like? Fun, disappointing, lonely, busy, boring? I bet it's a mixture of those and more. So, have you lived this experience? If so, how is/was it? Or is this a completely antiquated idea? I'm fairly good at vicariously living through stories, so what's yours?