The holidays are an exciting time when everyone packs their bags, orders their plane tickets or even Googles “things to talk about other than my dating life'” before coming home to their loved ones. It’s a thrilling experience just to think about having dinner on the same table with your parents again, exchanging heartfelt gifts with your relatives and reminiscing about all the good times in high school with your friends from back home.
However, this might not be the case for those whose families live too far away, who work over the holidays or are late in booking their flights. The holidays could just be like any other days to them, except with the view of empty parking lots, short hours of coffee shops and the album cover from Celine Dion’s “All By Myself“ on their Spotify playlist.
So if you’re ever feeling lonely or afflicted with your current situation, here are some things you can do to make the most of your holidays alone:
Learn New Skills
Remember those days where you told your friends that you wish you could skate, play a musical instrument or play chess? These days, when you’re free from school or your job, are the perfect time to do so! Malcolm Gladwell, the author of a New York Times bestselling book “Outliers“ mentions that it takes about 10,000 hours for a person to truly master a skill. Therefore, with all the free days you have and the absence of distractions, the holidays are the perfect time to learn or even perfect your skills.
Volunteer
While you could spend the holidays at home spending the entire day, week or month eating bag after bag of Tostitos and watching Netflix in bed, the holidays are in fact the best time to make an impact in the world. Not only that—you can help other people or support a good cause during your free time. Volunteering is also another way to get out of your loneliness and meet new people. Contact a local food bank, look up hospitals or operate a crisis line. Take advantage of your holidays alone by making sure that others don’t feel alone. After all, you’ve spent almost the entire year learning or working for your own benefits, so those few months (or fewer) could really be used to benefit other people.
Take advantage of your holidays alone by making sure that others don’t feel alone.
Read a Book
Reading a book during a busy semester might seem impossible, but that’s what the holidays are for! When you’ve been reading piles of journal articles, college textbooks and encyclopedias all semester long, reading might sound dreadful as you’re forced to retain that much information in a short period of time. However, picking up a fiction book that drives your imagination or a fashion magazine on the trends that you’ve missed can give you a broader perspective about reading.
Re-Decorate your Place
Home is where the heart is. But when your home is thousands of miles away, the least you can do is to grow your heart in your college apartment. For most college students, their apartments remain as a place to rest their heads when they come home from a busy day. Sitting in your apartment during the holidays seems dreadful as you’re surrounded by the same atmosphere you would be if you were still in the studying zone. However, you have the power and whole days to re-decorate (or decorate) your apartment. According to Susan Clayton, an environment psychologist at the College of Wooster, home is a part of self-definition for many people. Decorations, color schemes and cleanliness can tell a lot about a person’s traits. By revamping your apartment, you’re slowly but steadily changing your personal habits too.
Spending your holidays alone does not mean that you’re not having as much fun as your friends who are back home decorating Christmas trees with their families. Your family back home wishes you were home with them as much as you wish you were too. Keeping yourself company and being able to entertain yourself are two important parts of showing self-love. At the end of the day, the Christmas tree you’re decorating on your own will shine as bright as those at home with their families too.