Being home for any break comes with an array of emotions and feelings. The break in between semesters, known as Christmas break, is the longest and can be the most complicated of all the breaks. You’re not alone. This is how the stages of break generally go, though the timeline may differ from person to person.
Anticipation
This is what leads up to being home. It’s finals week and you’re thinking about all of the things you’re going to do, all of the things you’re going to eat and all of the things you’re going to not do at home. You’re also kind of curious (because you’re spending so much time thinking about home instead of studying) about what all of the family functions will hold over the next four weeks. Will you see your friends? Will your parents actually make you clean something? Will your drunk uncle finally say that rude thing everyone else was thinking about your aunt’s 3rd husband and his drug-addict son? These are the questions you try to guess answers to.
Excitement
This starts on the drive home. You have nothing else school related to do and all you can think about is how Christmas is coming, how you can’t wait for your mom to open her yearly wall calendar that you spent so long picking out and for your dad to get that same gift card that you give him every year. You keep picturing your family pets and how they’re going to snuggle with you on the couch while you watch Christmas specials all day. The only things you can think about in regards to being home are positive thoughts and relaxation.
Content
Upon being home, you are filled with content. You immediately feel the comfort of your family, your hometown and even the rooms in your house that you know so well. This is the honeymoon phase of being home: you’re simply enjoying the perks of being home. Home- cooked meals that you don’t have to make or clean up, catching up with your parents (without giving too much away) and seeing all of your old friends from high school end up being exactly the break that you needed.
Boredom
Especially after Christmas is over and the holiday cheer is dead, the fun of being home starts to dissipate. It might be that your parents are starting to guilt you about being lazy and ask you to actually do things around the house. It might be that you can feel your alcohol tolerance get lower with each passing day and you’re really missing your friends at school. It might even be that you’re actually bored because everyone in your house is at work or school during the day and you’re at home. Whatever the reason for your change in attitude at home, it’s making you ready to go back to school as soon as possible.
Frustration
This is the final stage of being home. When boredom meets arguments and fights and you’re packing your bags days early, you know you’re ready to be back to school. Your parents harping on you to not be lazy turns into fights about how your roommates don’t do anything at school and you need a break. Your siblings start to get on your nerves and fight with you about meaningless things like the cat giving you more attention than he does to your sibling. All of the little fights and constant bickering has finally gotten to you and you have a countdown to go back to school now.
Good luck to you and the rest of your breaks. Enjoy being home while you’re still young enough to mooch off of your parents for a month.
