It's Weird Being Back For The Holidays

As a freshman who, not four months ago, was moving into her new dorm, I can say that college can be quite easy to get acquainted with. Within those few short months, I had made a life for myself at Syracuse University. My entire dorm building was like a smaller neighborhood within a bigger community.

I quickly made friends with my roommate and formed tight attachments with new people I met. Living in such close quarters with my fellow college freshmen allowed me to make long-term friendships quickly. We spend every day with each other so it's a given that we had gotten close. Once classes started, it was easy to get into a routine of stuff.

I spent the first half of my classes most days with my friend, Anna, and had lunch with her after. I would study during my break in between classes with my Grace and/or Aidan and then head to classes. Later in the evening, I would 'study' with Gabby which mainly consisted of us goofing off and running around the dorm to distract our other friends trying to study.

The weekends consisted of sleeping in and grabbing late breakfasts in the dining hall and to get a head start on studying, but ultimately pushing it all back to Sunday night. We also went out to parties, football, and basketball games, and sometimes we would treat ourselves to food that wasn't from the dining hall. It quickly felt like I had lived there for years instead of just months. So you can only imagine the shock I've felt being back in Flower Mound, Texas

First of all, your parents suddenly become very overbearing. Or maybe they always were and you were just used to it. As nice as it is to be home and have your parents take care of things, it can also be overwhelming. I personally love my parents and it has been fun being back home, but there are definitely some downsides. Now that I am back under my parents' roof, it is their rules again.

Every time I leave the house I face an intense interrogation from them asking questions such as "where are you going?", "how long will you be gone?", "who are you going with?", and so many more. Not to mention even when I'm out I get texts asking when I'll be home. In college, I had the freedom to come home to my dorm at 3 am on a Saturday night with no one waiting up on me. Clearly, the rules are much different from the rules I have to follow in Texas.

Being back in Texas has also made me realize how nothing has really changed. The stores, the restaurants, even the people all seem to be the same. I still run into people from my high school everywhere I go and there really is no right way to talk to the people you spent four years with, but haven't spoken to in months.

Coming back to Texas, I realized there was a lot of people I had lost touch with, some by choice, and others due to simply being distracted by the college. I had managed to keep in touch with a select few of my closest friends, but everyone else just kind of vanished. Being back raises the question of whether I should try to get back in touch with people I used to have close relationships with or if I should just move on.

It can be hard to let go of people you grew up with, but sometimes it's good to cut ties. The holidays are a time meant to be spent with the people you care about the most and you don't want to pick the wrong people. You only have a month to be back home, so pick the right people to spend it with.

All in all, the holidays during college are weird in general. The people you are meant to be spending the next four years of your life with are all across the country, and it's hard to celebrate with them earlier because of the finals right before winter break. On the bright side, you do get to spend them with your friends and family that you have known for years or your whole life.

It's important to cherish these last four years with your family because soon afterward, it might not be as easy to spend the holidays with them every year like you once did. So yes the holidays are weird, but they're also the best.