I love a lot of things about Christmas Break, but not everything is dusted in snow and holiday cheer. Needless to say, it is with a satisfied smile and contented sigh that I'm back on my university's campus and ready to take on the next semester.

1. Routine

One habit that I truly dislike over break, but never seem to change, is that I do literally nothing. Oh it’s nice the first week, you know, to truly take a break after finals and just relax, but after that, not so much. There’s no structure. No where to go at a certain time, nothing to do by a certain date. It’s strange and weird and no one ever seems to really accomplish anything. I’m 99.9% I only actually got out of my pajamas six times over break, and normally it was because my mom told me I couldn’t go to the store in my fluffy pants and oversized t-shirt.

2. Sleep Schedule

I’m nearly positive that this happens to almost everyone over Christmas Break. Pre-Break, you have this nice little schedule of waking up and going to class, then taking a nap and doing homework, then to bed for the night. But once finals hit, you’re awake till the crack of dawn then have to turn around and wake up one minute past the crack of dawn. Once your home for break, your body it still on that sleep cycle. Go to bed at three in the morning and wake up a two in the afternoon? Just a normal day over break. After waking up, you get all frustrated because you’d planned on having a productive day, and that beautiful plan of yours just went to pieces because you just couldn’t get up.

3. Your Parents

If you’re anything like me, you love your parents. You really do. Adore them even. But being with them for nearly a month after living on your own for so long, can put a strain on even the most patient a people. My parents aren’t really the type to try and inflict rules upon my arrival home, but occasionally they had a few and I’d look up from my book and just stare at them. It had been so long since I’d followed an order that wasn't my own that I had a hard time recognizing it for what it was. You tried to be good and follow all the rules they’d given you, but the last three or four days before heading back to school, you’re ready to camp out in your car until your dorm opens rather than spend those last few days in their company. “Mom, I’ll pack when I’m ready to pack.” “No, I do not need you to fold my socks for me.” “Dad, I know the way back to my university.” “I am more than capable of figuring out what I do or do not need to take with me.” "OH MY GOSH, JUST STOP!"

4. Your Dorm, Apartment, or Sleep Space

I love going back to my childhood home and into my oh-so-familiar bedroom, but when I stepped into my dorm room when I moved back in, I had a sigh of relief. Because without a shadow of a doubt, it was completely and totally my own space. (At least, my side of the room was completely and totally mine.) Every color, every pillow, every decoration, every piece of clothing folded into a drawer was done by my decision and my design. There wasn’t a trace of anything I didn’t want, or old clutter of things I no longer wanted to see every day. Every item in that room was exactly where I had put it and where it should always remain without the touch a mother moving it around, even by accident. No one else had anything to do with that space, except me. My own little kingdom. It's great to be back on the throne.

5. Your Friends

This may not hold true to everyone, but my friends and I are scattered in a couple of different states. I see at least one of them nearly every day on campus somewhere, and we always make it a point to hang out as a group at least twice a week, if not more. I wouldn’t say we're inseparable, but we get pretty close to it sometimes. Then you go home for break and your everyday people are ripped away from you for over a month. You’re so used to running across campus to help them with their boy emergency that you don’t know what to do when they’re over ten hours away from you. Who do you grab coffee with? Or dinner? Or complain to about that evil biker that nearly ran you over? Sure, you could talk to your high school friends (perhaps they’re one and the same) but it isn’t quite the same anymore. So cheers to being back on campus with your besties and spending a whole day catching up on your Christmas misadventures.