Finals are finally over and the serenity that is winter break is finally upon us. No more classes, no more homework, no more papers, and the best of all, no more stress of school in general. Fall semester is finally over and you are now able to go home, relax, and reunite with your family and friends from home. The holidays are also coming up which is exciting enough in itself. Everything just seems to be absolutely perfect at the moment.

Reality sets in as you realize that you have said goodbye to your school friends and won’t see them again for about a month. Everyone that you’ve grown to know and love throughout the fall semester will go back to their old lives for a while. Many of your friends could be traveling hours away to get back home, leaving them at a large distance from you. Everyone will be on different schedules and the struggle to stay in touch will begin. Unfortunately, the many group chats, FaceTimes, texts, phone calls, and snapchats cannot fill the emptiness that you feel until you are able to reunite with your friends. While definitely not impossible, it will certainly be difficult to stay in touch as much as you may like.

While a month may not seem like that it’s that long, being away from your closest friends can make it seem longer than ever. The most important thing to remember is that you’ll be reunited soon enough. Attempt to distract yourself in order to make the time fly by faster. Take some time to enjoy your family and home because before you know it, you’ll be back at school surrounded by stress and you’ll be wishing that you had better cherished your time at home.

Your old friends may have known you for years but they may not have met the person that you’ve become since leaving for college. They won’t understand all of the inside jokes that you’ve made with your new friends. You’ll have to tell all of the stories and memories that you’ve experienced since the last time you were home. This may seem like a hassle but having friends that make going back to school exciting is such a special thing. Cherish the fact that you have these friends while still appreciating your home friends. When you finally get back to school for the spring semester, you’ll be reunited with your friends and everything will go back to the way it was. Until summer break, that is.