Christmas and Thanksgiving break: the light at the end of the dark tunnel that was filled with finals, all-nighters, and lots of coffee. The thoughts of our home bedrooms/beds, home-cooked meals, and being greeted by our loving pets get us through the final stretch of the semester and we start counting down the days till we are back home. Until we actually get there.

First what happens:

We finally get home and are so overwhelmed with all the excitement and joy that comes with it.

Your dog/cat greets you at the door, your mom makes you your favorite dinner, and you finally get to sleep on something other than a crappy twin sized mattress. All is well in the world.

You hang out with all of your old friends from high school, like once.

Remember when you texted all semester to hang out EVERY DAY of break, then you only see each other for five minutes?

All your friends are busy with family obligations, so you just end up hanging out with your pet the whole break.

I mean, as much fun as it is hanging out with your favorite four-legged friend, it gets kind of awkward when you try to tell them about your semester and they just stare at you and you remember that animals can't talk... or was that just me.

You take advantage of your bed every chance you get.

All those mornings you hit snooze until you had 10 minutes until class started have finally paid off and you're taking full advantage of every second you can spend with your bed.

You rehearse what you will tell your family at family gatherings to make your life sound way more exciting than it is.

And you know exactly what to say to avoid the most dreaded questions.

You pretend you don't have an assignment due two days after you get back to school.

Apparently, professors forget the break part of going on break.

You eat everything in sight.

If it is edible, you will find it. And the Thanksgiving leftovers will probably disappear overnight, too.

Your parents try to tell you to do chores.

You forgot what it's like actually having to pick up after yourself and you're not so sure you like it.

You text your friends from school every update of your day.

You're so used to doing every little thing together that you feel the need to keep them informed on the littlest details about your day that they probably don't care about. But that's what friends are for.

You get in at least one fight with a family member.

It's bound to happen, it's just a matter of time. Something about the holidays, right?

You watch every Christmas/holiday movie you can fit into your short break.

You've been waiting all year to binge-watch "Elf" and "Home Alone," now's your chance.

You still act surprised when your presents say "from Santa."

Time to accept the fact that I'm not 12 anymore, Mom!

You are sad to leave home but can't wait to be back with your friends.

As boring/uneventful as breaks can be sometimes, it's important to enjoy your time off with your family and take advantage of the fact that you don't have to wake up and go to class every morning. Happy Holidays!