With the end of finals week around the corner, we can all finally see the light at the end of the tunnel: winter break! Thanksgiving Break was a nice little tease, but these next three weeks of vacation are what we have all been waiting for. Elana and I will be here in town because we are working girls now (who knew?). However, for most of us, winter break means going home or vacationing to be with family and friends. Meeting with family is easy, but making time to meet with friends can get a little complicated. We have all heard the same lines:
“We should hang out!”
“We should grab lunch together!”
“Let’s go get FroYo sometime!”
These simple plans are made with good intention, but don’t always happen because most of us are guilty of not following through. But the holidays are about being together, so we urge you ladies to make a point to not only visit with family members, but old friends as well.
While it’s exciting to make plans with old friends, it’s not unusual to be nervous about being away from your new friends. We’ve just been through a whole semester with our college friends, and some of those friends are even the people we live with: our roommates! You live just a few feet apart, share clothes, cook meals, and watch the same TV shows, so how will you survive living without them for the next three weeks?
Elana and I had some major separation anxiety during our first winter break. We sent each other texts and pictures throughout the day with captions of inside jokes which, naturally, no one from home understood. At the end of each day, we’d Skype or talk on the phone to recap how the day had gone. And after putting up with the distance for two and a half weeks, we met each other for the weekend of New Year’s and spent the last few days of break together. Then, of course, we had the entire 6-hour drive back to Tallahassee to spend together.
Maybe you aren’t quite as attached as we were at the time, but regardless, staying tight with your college friends and roommates during your time apart is important and can be fun! Keep in touch! It’s a break from school, not break from friendships. Don’t let it be an “out of sight, out of mind” situation.
Social media is a great tool for keeping in touch, but sometimes it’s overused. Come on, we all know those people who document their every move, from updating Facebook statuses, to posting pictures on Instagram of what they’re eating, to tweeting about that weird lady they saw at the mall…enough already! Why not try something a little more personal?
How about you write each other letters—super cuties, right? Pen to paper is more intimate then finger to keyboard. You can get cute stationary to write on and cute colored pens to write with (if only they still made milky pens).
If that’s too old school for you, you can always Skype or FaceTime with each other. This way, you can show off the new haircut you just got or all the holiday gifts you received. Pick up the phone and call. There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned phone call with your roomie to end the day.
If you’re hardcore besties like Elana and me, make plans to visit each other over the break! The memories you make will be long-lasting and really special.