Winter break has reached its conclusion, and for others, it seems like it was ages ago. The days of not knowing what day it is are over, and we all have to come back to reality. It's been almost a month of being on siesta and autopilot, and the anxiety of going back to work and school is upon us. There are those moments, that many of us have encountered, where we realize our do-nothingness has reached new heights, and here are just a few of them.
1) You may not know what day of the week it is.
Like the summertime, the day of the week, let alone the day's number, are almost completely lost upon you. The only way I had a sense of the days is because my little brothers are in high school, and if there were home when I woke up, I knew it was the weekend. You're used to knowing the times when you could eat in between classes, but all of that goes out the window when you hear your mom's making spaghetti. Eat the homemade while you can.
2) The realization that sweatpants is no longer the norm in the outside world.
Grabbing some Chipotle with a friend from high school? Well scrap those sweatpants and strap on those jeans because Chipotle doesn't accept your student ID swipes. The phrase "get some food" requires a lot more effort than it did on campus. Putting on at least decent clothes that are appropriate to wear in public, figuring out what time and which car to take, relearning the directions to get there.
3) The thrill of driving has waned significantly.
Driving was always a great part of high school. You got to blare your music, as long as you had control of the almighty AUX cord, and no longer lived with the fear of your mom driving you to that party. You felt free. And revisiting that one of a kind freedom was awesome, at first. You'd offer to drive siblings to practices for the sole purpose of that freeing feeling on the way home as you drove by yourself. Now, the hype of it all is gone. It's like playing that one insanely popular song over and over again, and then in a week or two you can't stand hearing it anywhere; you're sick of it.
4) Some days, you can't even recall what you did.
There are those days where you just can't recall what happened. There was such a lack of anything that you did that caused you to blackout. "Well I, uh, remember I woke up, and then I went, uh, on my phone, and then mom said dinner was ready," some days just happen like that.
5) Everyday is a glasses day (for my contact lens-wearing amigos).
Waking up and grabbing your glasses to get breakfast is something that happens daily, but there is a point in the day where I know I'll need to get to work and put my contacts in. Glasses are a sign that going out is not in the plans; it's a sign that a nap is imminent, 'cause who wants to sleep in their contacts? The moment I put in my contacts is when my day really starts, but when you're on break, there's no need to impress anyone when you're at home. With little work to do and much sleep to catch up on, a nap can always be in the near future.
6) If you didn't leave the house, you get to wear the same outfit the next day.
I mean if you wear an outfit and no one is around to see it, did you even wear it? Perhaps this is almost a rule of thumb for everyone on break. Some days you even forget that you've been wearing the same sweatpants for three days now, but it doesn't really anyway, you don't need to impress anyone.
7) You're excited to go back to school.
As the early days in January fly by, you slowly mentally preparing yourself for going back to school. You probably don't miss the hours of studying, worrying about studying, or thinking about worrying about studying, but you miss your new college friends, and at this point on the road, they probably aren't that new to you anymore.
While home was great coming back to, with it's comfort and homemade food, you may just be anxious to get out of the house and conquer the second semester. Home will always be home, it won't change much, but after a full, stimulating semester at college, a break at home was all we needed.
