This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at NYU chapter.
Come Thanksgiving break, collegiettes across the country will travel back home for the first time since move-in day. For most, it’s an opportunity to catch up with high school friends, field questions from nosy family members, and of course, overdose on pumpkin pie.
But what about those of us who aren’t going home home this year? Instead of returning to our hometowns with our friends from high school, we’re spending the holidays in a new home.
Maybe your parents, newly emancipated empty-nesters, uprooted to a more tropical locale once you went off to college.
Or maybe they moved to be closer to the rest of your family.
But one thing remains unchanged: while all of your friends are relaxing in the comfort of their childhood bedrooms…
..You’re killing your back on a pull-out couch.
It’s not all bad, though. After all, you have a brand new city or town to explore and plenty of time to do it.
…But in reality, your break is less Instagram-worthy and more Instagram-stalking.
It seems to you that any time your friends spend not stuffing their faces with turkey is spent recording hours and hours of footage for their Snapchat stories.
You’re happy to see your favorite people reunited until you remember that you’re several states away from all of the fun.
But you’re fine. Totally fine.
And you’re beginning to wonder if your family has noticed your fixation to your phone — AKA, your magic FOMO portal.
FOMO is a real thing, sorry family.
And it’s all downhill once your high school crush crops up on your feed.
…WITH A NEW GIRL ON HIS ARM.
How dare this random girl impede on your romantic — albeit geographically-improbable — post-graduation dreams?
But then you remember that you’re in a new place full of plenty of cute faces.
…If you can manage to tear yourself away from the screen, that is.
And you should, because your new environment might just force you to have a great time with your family that you wouldn’t have with all of the distractions of your old home.
You’ll dodge questions about your college lifestyle just like anyone else, whether it’s about your spending habits…
…Or your “extracurricular activities.”
So, take this time to enjoy your family
And you rest easy in knowing that when you do return to your real home, your friends will give you the star treatment.
Image credits: Giphy/Tumblr