Christmas break: a much needed month of rest in the comfort of your cozy home with family and friends you so dearly missed.
After a long semester this was the light at the end of the tunnel–especially when finals hit. This blissful, responsibility free month was over in the blink of an eye and it was time to pack up, trek back to school and return to reality.
It was harder to go back than I expected. How could it be so hard to go back to a place that I love so much? At this point I have finally readjusted to my life at school, but it was definitely a process.
1. Packing
Packing up to go back to school means packing up your entire life and trying to fit it in as few bags as possible. I obviously brought everything I own home, which meant taking everything I own back. However, all of my stuff was no longer consolidated like it is when I’m in my dorm. Locating everything was definitely a struggle, which took a lot of digging through my sisters closets to reclaim all they had swiped. Getting everything into bags was the second battle.
2. Saying Goodbyes
Saying goodbye to family never gets easier. I held the tears in as I hugged my mom, but as I pulled out of the driveway in my packed car the tears fell. I was driving one of my home friends back to school with me and the two of us cried until we were out of our beloved hometown and on the highway. It was as if we were going back to prison–not a place with complete freedom and best friends.
3. Reuniting
Once the tears were out and a four hour drive of scream-singing in the car was complete, I was feeling more optimistic and began to remember all of the great things about school–which mainly included my friends. When I arrived all of them were already back and came barrelling to my dorm for our big reunion.
4. Unpacking
Once the luster of seeing my beloved BFFs was over, reality began to set in. For the first time in a long time I had a bunch of things to do and the first one was unpacking my entire life. I have never wanted a magic wand more than I did in this moment.
5. First Day of Class
Waking up for an 8:30 class was a foreign concept to me at this point after weeks of only setting my alarm when I was going out to breakfast. The first day of a new semester brought all new classes with all new kids and all new professors–a lot to take in for an early morning!
6. Homesickness
Personally, I get the most homesick right when I return to school. After a little while, home begins to fall into the “out of sight, out of mind” category, but when I first return all the things about home are fresh in my mind. I immediately create a countdown until our next break (7 weeks) and I panic about how I will last that long at school. What will I do with my time?!?!?
7. Adjusted
After a few days of feeling a little bit off, before I knew it I was back into the swing of things. I felt back to normal and was no longer longing to jump into my car and drive home. I remembered that being at school is full of so many freedoms and people that I do not have at home. I need to treasure my time here because the semester will realistically fly by.
Although the comforts of home are unbeatable, after a couple days of readjusting all of the fun memories from last semester begin to come back and the excitement for the upcoming months begin to set in. Living with all your best friends with no parental supervision?!?! Who wouldn’t want to return to that?! But of course, when things feel a bit bleak, only 7 weeks until showering with no shoes.