I love the holidays more than any other time of year, and the biggest reason for that is my family. Being around each other, celebrating together, and reminiscing on old holiday traditions is priceless. As I’ve gotten older, it’s been harder to coordinate seeing all of my family over the holidays and, especially after starting college, sometimes I can’t make it back home to celebrate.
Although I miss the traditions I had growing up, I’ve started making new ones with my college friends, who really have become like family. My experiences with holidays away from home made me realize that I have come to associate the feeling of being at home with people rather than a place, which makes it a bit easier to bear.
No matter how homesick I’m feeling, I know my friends are feeling the same way. It really helps to be supported by people who understand exactly how you’re feeling, and you can come up with fun ways to feel better together. Creating new traditions with friends is such a fun adventure. From Friendsgiving, Secret Santa, Ugly Christmas Sweater Contests, or organizing a day to bake holiday treats, I look forward to planning and attending these kind of parties with my friends. We get to show each other how much we appreciate one another and have fun doing it.
Even if I can’t physically be home, my friends have helped me make Davis a home away from home, and I can’t express how grateful I am to them. Throughout the next couple years, I know we’re going to make even more traditions and memories, and I cannot wait to see what we come up with.
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