Since the first day of the fall semester, we have all been waiting for winter break.It seemed like so far away. Now, it is almost here and we all can’t wait. The weather, the holidays, your friends and family, and no school! Winter break can be the best and worst part of college, though. Here are some pros and cons of winter break.

Pros:

The Holidays. Over winter break there are several different holidays. Thanksgiving is about everything to be thankful for. Plus all the good, homemade food that we have been craving for weeks now (No more dining hall food!!). The next holiday in my house is Christmas. Christmas is all about giving and receiving gifts. There's nothing better than seeing everyone’s faces when they open up a gift they've been hoping for. Also, seeing all the Christmas lights and everyone in the Christmas spirit is my favorite part of the holidays. After that, New Year’s Eve is all about celebrating the past year. There's just something so magical about watching the ball drop and seeing what is next for the new year and future.

Family and Friends. Since you are home over the break, you get to finally see your family again. You can have a normal family dinner like you used to have before college. You can spend days over the break just sitting on the couch and watching Christmas movies with your mom. You can finally meet up with your high school friends as well. Those plans that you made before school started will finally come true!

No school. Winter break means no school! No more worrying about homework or papers that have to be 10 pages just to get a passing grade. No more endless nights of studying over final exams and praying that you will pass. As they say, “C’s get degrees!” Your caffeine addiction will slowly dwindle down since you can actually sleep in now. You have over a full month of no school and it will be one of the best things to happen as a college student.

Cons:

No school friends. Going back home over break means that the little family you created at school, you won’t see again for over a month. Let’s not even get started with not seeing your roomie for a month! You have been with these people every day for 3 months. The endless nights of laughter and memories that will last a lifetime. At least with smart phones and social media, you can still keep up with your friends at school, but that doesn't stop you from counting down the days until you can see them again.

Working again. If you didn’t work while you were at school, you felt like you had the life of luxury. Not having to work for over 3 months was pretty nice. Now you are shocked when you have to work for 8 hours a day when you didn’t even have school for 8 hours a day. The money is nice, but now you actually have to get up early and work instead of going to a 50 minute class and then taking a 3 hour nap.

The boredom. At school you are always used to having freedom and something to do, whether it is homework, studying, eating, working out, or hanging out with friends. During winter break, there isn’t homework to do and the friends that live no further than a building away aren’t there. What is there to do? There is stuff to do but what is probably going to happen is that Netflix is going to be your best friend .It’s alright, we all do it! Here’s to binge watching Gossip Girl!

Overall, winter break is like our salvation from college. You will be stress-free and no more seeing your professors for a month! Winter break is what you make of it, so make it a good one!