Spending the holidays with family can be stressful and awkward at times. As if you weren’t already thinking about your relationship status, your great-aunt twice removed is asking why you don’t have an S.O. and your uncle who’s name you don’t remember is giving you an overly detailed life update. Nevertheless, being surrounded by your family during the holidays, no matter how suffocating they may seem can be a memorable and great time.
If you have a small family…
The family table during the holidays in a small family consists of 10 or fewer plates. Your parents have most likely been sharing your personal achievements and stories of college with anybody who will listen. Luckily, this means that your family is already aware that you bombed that math exam, but aced that bio midterm. And they are most definitely not aware of those *late* nights you can hardly remember. Your siblings and close cousins will pull you aside and ask about those crazy nights and I advise you to be as truthful as possible without sounding like you’re going off the rails. Whether your family members went to college or not, they watch movies. They’ll be glad to know that your life at college isn’t as crazy as others make it seem. They’re asking questions because they care, so it’s better to put their mind at ease by letting them know that college is fun but not as insane as they think (unless your life is, then please spare them the entire truth).
If you have a large family…
If you have a large family, then you may be sitting at the kids’ table, and chances are, none of the five-year-olds will ask any awkward personal questions because they’re busy talking about what their favorite color is. If you have graduated to the adults’ table, then chances are you’ll be surround by questions revolving around what you have done in the last three months. You’ll have your great-aunt Susan asking why you don’t have a S.O., or your second cousin Jim asking how that math final went, neither of which you’ll want to answer. But luckily you’ll have so many questions thrown at you, that it will be easy to ignore some and only answer the ones that you don’t mind answering. However, you may end up cornered as you’re grabbing seconds so be prepared. But, stay as truthful as possible. Your family is only interested because they care about you.
For everyone…
No matter what kind of family you have – large, small or extended – they just want to know that you’re having fun and they want you to know they care. If worse comes to worse, answer whatever nail-biting question they asked as truthfully as possible and quickly dive into what plans you have for next term. For example:
Great-uncle Henry: How were your math classes?
You: Oh yeah. They didn’t go exactly as I expected, but I’m excited for next quarter because I’m going abroad.
A quick change of subject solves issues because you’re able to lead the conversation.
In the end, you should enjoy the long break, because at Drexel we hardly have any time to breathe let alone go home. Your break is well earned so don’t spend it stressing. If your family is suffocating you, take a deep breath and just remember that they may not see you as often as they used to and they just want to catch up. Lastly, remember to enjoy your family, friends and this long break that Drexel has gifted us.