Ahh J-Term. The time of year for college students to take a random class, travel for weeks, or stay home with their family. I chose the last option. While I could have stayed at school and taken a class, I decided the best option would be to come home for two months and essentially do nothing. And it was actually the best decision.

First of all, rarely in your life will you be able to take two whole months off and do absolutely nothing. I could have worked during these months, but I had different things come up (aka having people come in and put in a new WALL in my room), and I felt like it would be fun to get to hang out with no obligations.

One thing I learned throughout these past eight weeks is the daily routine in my house. I never really realized how repetitive the daily routine is and how much driving my parents actually have to do. Between driving to work and dropping us off at school and picking us up and getting groceries and taking us out at night, it takes up a lot of time.

Another thing I learned was how to have a better relationship with my parents. Obviously in high school most people are going to have problems with their parents. However, once you leave for a while you realize how much you missed out on opportunities to just talk to them or ask their advice about things, so I learned to take advantage of that while I was home.

One of my absolute favorite parts of staying home was that I could sleep in until noon if I wanted. I definitely took advantage of this option and rarely woke up before 10, and it was incredibly nice to be able to wake up when I feel fully rested and then start my day. However, shifting my sleep schedule back to school hours will not be as enjoyable.

One thing I really enjoyed doing while I was home was having the ability to hang out with my best friends.

Since (most of) my friends are not in college yet, they were still at home in high school. It was so nice to be able to hang out with them more than once a month. An activity I started with my best friend that I highly suggest is reading a book together. It sounds dumb, but it’s fun and it is a way to connect with each other when you leave and gives you a reason to facetime every night.

Lastly, J-Term was easily the longest span of time I will be home for a long time.

As summer comes around, becoming a camp counselor means my summer is basically filled, and then school will start up again in the fall, and I will be gone once again. It was a really amazing time to get closer to my family and to feel like a kid before I have to do my own laundry and walk x yards to get my dinner. I highly suggest going home if you have a J-Term, because it’s probably one of the only times you will be able to do absolutely nothing and not feel bad.