As finals and the end of the semester come to a close, winter break could not seem to come faster. That being said, here are the 5 stages of being home for the holidays:

1. Celebration

This stage is the beginning when you're finally done with finals and the stress of school! You can finally lounge around at home in your pajamas, binge-watching any and every Netflix show that you can get your hands on without feeling guilty. Your parents are so excited for you to be back home and will basically do anything you want.

Also, if you're like me, you can't wait to see your dog, who by this time, you assumed they'd forgotten all about you. Not to mention you finally get to sleep in your bed that you have so dearly missed in those past few months you've been away at college.

2. Catching Up With All Your Old Friends

One major perk of coming home is getting to see all those friends from back home that you haven't seen since summer because you all go to different colleges. You'll finally get to catch up and see how they really are, because, let's face it: it can be quite hard to maintain long-distance friendships when you're busy all the time.

3. The Holidays

Christmas is such a magical time and being able to spend it with all your loved ones is one of the best feelings in the world. It reminds you how lucky you are to be surrounded by so much love and to be grateful for everything you have. Then before you know, New Years is right around the corner. New Year's Eve is always a blast and usually starts off the year with a bang. But after New Years, what's next?

4. Boredom

Being home is great, but eventually, the boredom sets in. There's only so much Netflix you can watch and only so many times you can hang out with your hometown friends before you realize how much you miss your best friends at college and miss the freedom it offers you.

And there's no doubt that your parents will start to get on every single one of your nerves. By the time you get to the last week or two of break, you'll be thinking to yourself, "When can I go back?"

5. Celebration (again)

As the end of your break approaches, the eagerness to get back to campus continues to grow. You'll finally get to see all of your friends and excitedly exchange stories about your winter breaks. Despite it being only a few weeks since you've seen them, it'll feel like forever. Even though you've loved being home, coming back to college is where you feel like you belong.

After being home for the holidays, you're fully refreshed and ready to start a brand new semester!