As an out-of-state student, going home isn’t nearly as feasible for me as it is for most people who live within an hour or two from campus. While most of my friends had been able to go home for a weekend here or there, I wasn’t. Until Thanksgiving break, of course.
As much as I love it here, I was really excited to go home; to see my family, my old friends, my new dog, and my hometown. When I was moving in, I told myself that it would only be a few months until I was home again and it would go by fast. I was right; it DID go by fast because I was kept busy with school, events, clubs, etc. But once I got home, it hit me how much time had passed. New billboards were up, all the leaves I grew familiar with had fallen, my local gas station had been renovated, I got new neighbors, and the whole house had been redecorated. As stupid as it sounds, it was shocking how much had changed – when you leave for school, it almost feels like time should freeze back home while you’re gone. But it doesn’t.
I did have homework over break, but it wasn’t much at all. Since Iowa combines its fall break and Thanksgiving break, we start our break before most other schools and get over a week off. I got most of my work done in my first few days back so I could be free for the rest of the week when my friends would get back.
There’s a stark difference between the friends you make at college and the friends you have from home. Something about growing up together makes the friendship different; not necessarily stronger, but just different. This is a topic I could (and probably will) explore in its own post, but I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s refreshing to see those friends that you’ve known for a long time.
The worst part of Thanksgiving break is that you don’t want to go back to school once it’s over. Not because you don’t like it there, but rather because you know the next couple of weeks are going to suuuuuck. Once December rolls around, it is officially Finals Season – and you’re going to feel exhausted. I most likely won’t cover anything about Finals this semester just because I don’t actually have any in-person finals, so my experience will be different than most. But no matter what your finals schedule looks like, the combination of the grind and burnout is going to make it tough to push through… But before you know it, it will all be over, and you’ll be on your way back home once more. 🙂
