Stepping back onto campus after being home for a month can be simultaneously exciting, daunting, and a drag. Unlike coming back from summer break, the month of the winter vacation is just long enough for you to lose your ability to write legibly, but not quite long enough for you to completely forget the hell that exams put you through right before you left campus. But coming back to school can be a happy occasion as well since you get to go back to everything that you missed about college living. Here are a few realizations you may have after returning to campus.
1. You realize how much you missed your friends.
Though you may have enjoyed spending time with your old pals over the break, seeing your college friends after a month without each other is pretty sweet.
2. You realize that you took home-cooked meals for granted.
Campus food is fine and all, but it only takes a few days of being back at school to make you miss homemade meals. Kraft Dinners are fine and all, but there's nothing quite like a home-cooked dinner.
3. You realize that you missed the freedom that comes with being away from home.
Being at home is super relaxing and nice, but being back at school gives you a level of freedom that you don't get when you're home for the holidays. You get to decide how you want to live your life: when and what you eat, where you go, and how you spend your time. This can be liberating at first, but it doesn't take long for us to realize that adulting and managing your life responsibly isn't as easy as it looks.
4. You find out how homesick you really are (or not).
Unlike moving into college after a whole summer away, coming back after winter break helps you to discern whether or not you really, truly miss being at home.
5. You realize how much work it is.
After being excited to come back to all the social benefits that college provides, you realize soon after that the principal reason you're even on campus in the first place is to go to class. After syllabus week is over, it's back to the schoolwork grind. It's a total wakeup call after going a month with little to no academic obligations.
6. You realize how much you missed the campus itself.
Especially if you're lucky enough to go to a school with a beautiful campus, stepping back onto school grounds makes you remember how much you love the place where you go to school.
So whether you're excited to be back or wishing you had a few more weeks of rest at home, welcome back to school, and have an awesome second half of the year!