After a glorious five weeks off from school, it’s come to that time where I must say my goodbyes and head back to my tiny dorm room. My first college winter break was much anticipated and I consider myself lucky to be able to say that I can go back to school feeling fulfilled from break.

Looking back always makes it seem as if time just flew by, but when it’s broken down it seems as if break was just as long as it was supposed to be. I was lucky to have exactly five weeks off from school, a time to relax, to unwind, and to just enjoy being home.

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect going into my first break. I was definitely more than excited to be home and to not have to worry about homework or assignments. Not to mention I was also excited and proud to say that I survived my first semester of college (woohoo-!). I put school in the back of my mind and focused on spending time with family, friends, and also being able to take some time for myself to not only relax but reflect on the past semester.

Despite all the changes that college has brought, my friends from home have remained a constant. Over break we hung out just as we would have before we all went to college, spending time binge watching movies (Harry Potter was a fan favorite), going out to eat at Elmer’s our favorite diner, ringing in the new year together, just talking and more. Our families were excited to see our ‘crew’ together again and we were just as excited to be home for the holidays.

Like any other year, the holidays flew by. Coming home a little more than a week before Christmas made it seem to go by faster than usual. With that being said, my favorite part of Christmas is getting together with family. Every Christmas Eve my family goes to New York for an Italian dinner, which definitely beats college dining hall food any day.

I’ve always been someone who imagines how things will play out before they actually happen but this time was different. I was so ready to be home that I didn’t put too much thought into what break would be like. I knew my friends and I would get back together and I knew that I would spend the holidays with the same family I do each and every year. Everything definitely had a different feel now that I was in college; I missed most of the decorations and prep for Christmas, and I was pretty much living out of suitcases and plastic boxes, too lazy to truly unpack everything that I had brought home with me. But if there’s anything that I could have learned from this break it would be that maybe it was good to not come home with expectations.

Looking back into these past five weeks I’m grateful that I’ve had the break that I did. Sure, there were some days where I didn’t know what to do with my parents at work and my brother at school, but I was able to spend time with friends, get back to work (thank god for paychecks) and complete some artwork. There were busy days, and there were lazy days but all in all, I think that I can go back to school well rested and ready to take on a new semester.