October 14^th, 2016 marked the start of my fall break. After almost two months of non-stop homework, tests, practicing, and performances, I can finally relax with not one, but TWO days off from college. It has been a chaotic but wonderfully fulfilling journey in my time at Converse so far; I passed my calculus midterm, I wrote a ten-page paper on the second and third plague pandemics, I traveled to Germany and performed in a music festival, and I became a member of the Converse Activities Board. With eighteen credit hours and plenty of extracurricular activities and orchestra rehearsals, I’ve had a lot on my plate. However, I have made many new friends along the way, I have explored new areas of Spartanburg and Greenville, and I have become closer to my roommate. Life is fantastic.

However, I think it is important to take a step away from college to visit family and friends back home. While I love Converse and everyone there, I try to find time to come back to my Campobello residence to catch up with my parents and my plethora of pets. When my brother Zachary is at the Governor’s School, I sometimes borrow the car to go visit him in Greenville. Now I am not incredibly homesick- I have already lived away from home for three years with my residential high school shebang. But that doesn’t mean it’s not important to come home.

First, college and any other sort of school is associated with “work,” whether it be homework, volunteering, or practicing your instrument. The crazy busy and strenuous environment of your school will eventually wear on you, even if coffee is helping you get through those late nights and early mornings. You need to disassociate yourself with this sort of atmosphere once in a while, because while education is important and you need to take it seriously, we all need a long weekend or summer break to give ourselves a mental and physical break from scuttling to and from classes 24/7. We will eventually not have summer breaks with professional careers on the horizon, but at this young(ish) age, we are continuing to build up to that. The best way to remain productive, efficient, and focused is to take those necessary hiatuses and separate yourself from the work zone occasionally, even if you don’t go to your house. It could be a friend’s or if you live far away, grab a hotel. Just get a breath of fresh air outside of campus so you can switch from the “workaholic” mode to your “human” mode.

Furthermore, while you might think that you are ready to move away from your family and friends back home and say goodbye until December, it is a whole different thing living on your own and setting your own schedule. You’re living with different people in a foreign environment, and if you’re an out-of-state student, it is especially scary flying hundreds of miles from home. If you get the chance, go visit your folks, even if it’s only for a day or a weekend. Your family and friends have continuously supported you up to this point, and they will continue to do so as you move through your college years. Appreciate that your parents had to say goodbye to a huge part of their life when you moved away in August, even if it’s only for nine months. Take into consideration that your little brother or sister no longer has their best friend around every day after school, and Skype just isn’t the same as one-on-one socializing. NEVER take this love for granted. And despite living only twenty minutes away from home, I miss my family beyond belief. It’s just so refreshing to occasionally come back to a familiar environment where I can reenergize while reconnecting with my loved ones.

So while you may be enjoying yourself at college and you may not want to come home every weekend (or you can’t logistically make that happen), do remember what you came for and what you left behind on move-in day. Embrace your new lifestyle and educational experiences, but don’t forget who made it possible. And coming from someone who enjoys staying busy, please take a breather and get out of that stressful and demanding environment when possible.