The Tigers at the University of Missouri have about two weeks until the town of Columbia, Missouri decides to empty out and go home for the semester! After the weeks of pulling all-nighters, lots of caffeine, and lack of sleep, we will be done before we know it. Freshman will pack up their dorms, sophomores will clean out their fridges, and juniors will throw clothes in the back of their car before they jet off into the cold weather for their hometowns.

Nothing feels better than the sound of Christmas tunes on the radio, hot coffee in the cupholder, and the setting sun on the town of Columbia as it fades in our background. Going home for the holiday as a student is NOT to be taken lightly. Everyone takes it as seriously as the next.

Sure we love being away from home, working, classes, stress, box meals that don't really fill us up, and doing our own laundry, but nothing compares to what it's like when our student lives are put on hold and we get to get away from the gray hairs.

Driving home is therapeutic. Watching the milage to our hometowns get smaller on the interstate is a feeling that I can never quite fully explain. The stress begins to roll off of us, like the air outside of the car just lets it wash off us.

Nothing feels better than driving through our hometowns and seeing the Christmas tree all lit up that someone worked hard to put up. Nothing better than the snowflakes on the street lights that glow a pale yellow for the generations of people who've passed under it. Nothing is better than going to Walmart, the Battlefield Mall, or Sam's Club and having adults and kids alike ringing bells for the Salvation Army!

Returning home for the holidays are like when you pull out a warm baked apple pie from the oven. It's perfect, warm, cozy and familiar all wrapped in one. If you know a student returning home from school, give them a big hug. As easily as they'll wash off that school went good and that they weren't stressed, they were. They need an extra hug and an extra bit of love.

Returning home for the holidays are when we get to be surrounded by the people we love, the people who refresh us and build us up. Don't forget to remind them how much they mean to you. Returning home for the holidays let us be a human once again before the craziness of the next semester hits us in the face. But we do it over and over again because that's just how much we love our family and how much we want to succeed.