Thanksgiving break is an amazing blessing after midterms and all of the studying that you’ve been doing. You finally get to go home and see your family/friends/town that you’ve been missing. This could be fun for you… or extremely difficult. Maybe it’s hard to go home because you don’t get along with family, or have some hurtful memories of home, or there are people that you’re a little nervous to run into around town. You’re not alone! People have tons of mixed feelings about going home. Holidays can just be difficult in general! Maybe you lost someone that you won’t be sharing said holiday with this year. Or maybe Grandma’s going to be asking a million questions as to why you don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/5 kids by now. But good news: you can have an awesome break despite all of this.
Here are a few pointers that could give you some ideas to combat all of the hard stuff that comes with the holiday break:
- Stay busy! I know you might have been dying for a break from school, but it might help to do a little school work. It’ll keep you focused and take your mind off anything that could be making you uneasy from being home- you’ll be able to remember that school and being home is all temporary. Also, it will make it easier when break is over. You’ll be able to ease into the transition of school like a boss.
- Eat as much as you want, like really enjoy every bit of it as you can (you know how much caf food sucks) but try to get some endorphins going with some exercise. If the weather is gloomy, or you have a little angst from being home, go run it out, listen to some hardcore rap and imagine punching someone. It’ll definitely help.
- When family members ask about your lack of a significant other here’s what you do: Gently remind them that you’re bad ass and have so much else going on around you and for you. School in itself is huge, so talk about how you’re pushing through the difficulties. Talk about how maybe you have a job and you work hard for it. Basically, just talk about all of your awesome accomplishments and keep talking about them until your family and you forget how the conversation began about something that might strike a nerve. (Who needs a boyfriend/girlfriend anyway!?)
- If you lost a loved one, this time can be so hard. I’m so sorry for your loss. Holidays have that way of making those unbearable feelings a lot more prevalent. I wish those feelings didn’t exist. The best thing I can say is to feel them, write about them, talk about them, scream about them, and do anything to let it out. Don’t let them consume you. Try to remember your loved one as well as you can with love in your heart. They are still with you, and you can be told that over and over and it can still feel like crap… but you’re alive and I’m sure they’d want you to try to enjoy your holiday as best you can for them. My thing that I do: eat some extra turkey for them, have a drink for them, anything. Do it in their honor.
I hope these tips help you have the best break that you can possibly have! Enjoy it, treat yourself, and try to relax. You deserve it.