Take Five…or Ten

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I know I sure did. The food was great, but spending time with family and friends is what puts the icing on the cake (which I had a lot of).

Take Five

I remember being in high school always looking forward to winter break. The reason I mentally skipped Thanksgiving break was due to our school only getting out the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, which ended up to only being a 5 day break. Which flies by WAY too fast, in my opinion.

I would get so excited because I would not have to go to school and have little to no homework. I still did have basketball practice over break, except Thanksgiving Day, of course. Thanks to practice, I have never, not once, went Black Friday shopping. And with me, being the bargain searcher I am, sure do wish I could take advantage of those great deals.

Most of all, I was ready for a break. I was ready to sleep in, lounge around, and meet up with buddies of mine. Man, was life rough in high school or what?

Take Ten

Looking back at all the breaks during high school, I can only come to one conclusion: THEY WEREN’T NEEDED. I know, it’s a hot take right? What I really mean was is that breaks are a NECESSITY in college. The constant juggling of time, school, and friends gets so abundant that I don’t even think a circus clown could juggle them.

All jokes aside, it really does wear you down. If you are in high school, don’t expect college to be easy. Yes, you probably are going into college with the mentality that your life will be very chaotic and stressful for however long you are here. Some of that is true, but that is what the experience is about. I’m not saying this to scare you off, just giving you the forewarning. So, you can’t say I never told you.

This year, fall break at the University of Iowa was from November 17th to November 27th. Ten full days of no school. It is so relieving to go home and be with family and friends for more than a couple of days.

Before you get ahead of yourself, you will mostly have homework to do or lessons to study. It can get hard to get back in the swing of things when you come back, especially if all of your procrastination finally catches up to you. My advice is to set aside one to two hours a day reviewing your notes or doing assignments. It will keep your brain in the school mode. Don’t get me wrong, it is a struggle to do it, but when I did, I felt better in more confident in coming back to Iowa City.

Turkey Break

Enough about school for a wee bit.

I tell you what, I do love the holidays. What do I love even more? Food. Thanksgiving is just one of my favorite holidays primarily for all of the delicious meals that everyone cooks up.

Granda made some great stew, while the other grandparents carved the turkey and served up the stuffing and green-bean casserole. That is yummy with a capital ‘Y’.

The most special part of Thanksgiving, for me at least, is to come home to all of my friends and family. I sure do love Iowa City and all the incredible people I’ve met there, but nothing beats coming back to good ‘ole Missouri Valley, Iowa.

My friends and I got together every chance we could and told stories about our college experiences. We’ve all have some interesting stories, to say the least.

And during the Thanksgiving celebrations we had (one for each side of the family), I got to see some of my family that I haven’t seen since I’ve moved out, some even longer.

One of the best stories I have from break is from a mini genius. My little cousin, Everett, can tell you all 45 Presidents of the United States. He even knows some of the First Ladies, too. Here I am, listening to a 3-year-old tell me all the Presidents, while I can probably only name five. This kid is brighter than me, and I’m 15 years older.

I even asked him, “So Everett, what President is from Iowa?”

He then replies very confidently, “Hoover Hoobert.”

Even though he mispronounced a wee bit, you git the big picture.

Time is Up

As a good of time that I had, it ended quicker than I imagined. Ten days sure does fly by when you are with people you love in the place you love.

I did read a tweet over break that hit right home to how I was feeling. It read, ‘College makes you appreciate home, but home makes you appreciate college.’

I’ve read some relatable stuff, but I don’t think any form of text has hit me like that tweet did.

It is always hard to leave home, especially when home is filled with friends, family, and all-round great people. But over break, I caught myself telling people that I would be going home on the 27th. That is when it came to me; Iowa City is home now, and I am ecstatic that it is.

I already know I have people that I could count on or just have a good laugh. The Iowa City and campus environment is something that I have grown to love. They always say, ‘Home is where the heart is’ and I totally agree with that. But in this case, ‘Home is where the Tigerhawk is’.

That was the most cheesiest thing I have probably ever typed, which means something because I can get exceptionally cheesy.

Just remember that it is good to go home, but it is as just as good to come back. Only two full weeks of class, then finals week. After that, I will be Missouri Valley bound.

Besides, it is almost December, which means CHRISTMAS!!! You bet your bottom dollar I’m getting jolly. More details will come in the next post.

Stay golden, Hawkeyes.