As Christmas fast approaches and finals are all over for the semester, it's that time when everyone is traveling home for the holidays. And that process is spelled out with great accuracy by one of my favorite television series, How I Met Your Mother.

1. Playing your favorite song on the drive home.

Everyone has that one song they LOVE to sing on road trips. And, if you're like me (and you have an 11 hour car drive home) you get to listen to that song almost as many times as Ted and Marshall listened to "500 Miles." And Marshall is right, it comes back again.

2. Reminding people that you don't live with your parents anymore.

Whether your parents still live in the hometown you really only want to escape, or they moved from your childhood home and live in a place that is rather foreign to you, once you're in college, going to your parents' place for the holidays isn't exactly going "home." Except in the sense of the people who are there.

3. When your parents ask about that cute guy you've been pretending you don't like.

I know I mention him in pretty much every other sentence, but no. I totally don't have any feelings for him whatsoever. *cue the blushing*

4. Telling your family about your post-grad plans.

So, maybe my post-grad plan isn't to open a bar named Puzzle because that's the puzzle, but there are times that I say it and feel like that might as well be my plan.

5. Being asked by extended family and your parents' friends if you have a significant other.

Maybe I SHOULD tell them about the guy I mentioned in number 3. At least I wouldn't seem quite so single. JK. Still totally single. Thanks for asking.

6. Seeing that friend that always seems to show up.

We all have a Ranjit. They disappear for long periods of time, and yet somehow they are there for so many of the big moments and the moments when you least expect to see them.

7. Remembering old inside jokes.

As a general rule, you're bound to remember at least ONE inside joke over the break. It's a major let down if you don't.

8. When you successfully roast a sibling.

You're with your family, which means you are eligible to employ all the sass you'd like.

9. When your sibling roasts you, but it hits a little too close to home.

You're right, I am going to be alone with just a piece of paper that says I completed some schooling and my 40,011,000 cats.

10. Forgetting all your schooling for three blissful weeks.

Yeah, I'm in college. You want to know what 2 + 2 is? I'm sorry, that's outside my brain capacity for the next few weeks.

11. When you want to keep a Christmas tradition and your sibling wants to change it.

What do you mean you don't want to be up by 5 a.m. on Christmas morning?!? We've done that every year since we were kids! DON'T MESS WITH MY TRADITIONS, YOU TRAITOR!

12. When one of your siblings starts acting fishy.

Yeah, I know we are all keeping secrets because of Christmas presents...but I think there's more to it than that. Where's the poop?

13. When someone starts telling a REALLY boring story.

Admittedly, I'm generally the one telling the boring stories in my family. But, when someone else tells one, it's always fun to be overly dramatic about how boring it really was.

14. Trying to make it seem like it's not weird to be away from your friends that long.

Yeah, Snapchat, Instagram, and texting all make it seem like we're right there with each other. Except, it's totally different and I'm just pretending that it's not weird to be away from my humans for more than a few days.

15. When your parents tell you to be nice to a relative you don't want to deal with.

Maybe I should have gone into acting, because that performance should have won an Oscar.

16. When your parents tell you to fend for yourself for a single meal.

I have to eat cafeteria food the rest of the year. I need you to feed me ASAP.

17. When your sibling offers you unwarranted advice.

Your advice is not needed or wanted. Thanks though.

18. Realizing a bunch of your friends are graduating.

No. Stop. You aren't allowed to leave me.

So, now I'm going to spend my Christmas break doing the best possible thing I could do with my time: binge-watching How I Met Your Mother.