Ever since I’ve come to college, the holidays mean something different. Both this year and last year, Hanukkah has fallen on what I call “crunch time,” when every single one of your classes assigns a bunch of things at the same time and you feel like no matter how much time you spend at Bartle, you are still nowhere near as prepared as you want to be for finals. I’ve always enjoyed the newfound independence college offers. I attended Jewish sleep away camp for several years, so homesickness has never been an issue for me. However, as I twist the candles of my electronic menorah in my dorm room, I can’t help but feel a twinge of homesickness. I can’t help but miss lighting the menorah with my parents and forcing my cat to take just one picture in front of the menorah with me. I miss giving my dad his yearly Hanukkah chocolate (the one thing he definitely won’t return) and drowning special homemade latkes with applesauce.
This year, I spent my first night of Hanukkah lighting the menorah with my sorority sisters at our weekly meeting. It wasn’t the same as lighting it with my parents and there was no cat to take a picture with, but it was still special in a different way. There will be presents to give and receive when I come home. I’m sure my parents will leave the Hanukkah decorations up for me to enjoy even though the holiday will have passed. We will celebrate New Year’s and Christmas together. After all, it has been a while since I’ve had good Chinese food and I’ve had my eye on some new movies that are coming out this month. While I won’t be home for Hanukkah this year, I’ll celebrate in my own way here and will be able to be with my family soon.