Believe it or not, three or four weeks ago we were all desperately excited to come home. We had all received that tease of being home over Thanksgiving and longed for more. We missed our own rooms and our hometown friends and it was rough having it for a few days and then being brought back and tossed into finals. As we sat day in and day out in the library, we knew it would all pay off when we were having some of our parents home cooked food and playing with our pets. However, I’m a fan of knowing that breaks start and end at the perfect time. Think of how it was in August, we were all tired of our families and couldn’t wait to get off to college. I couldn’t explain it better myself, so for a last hurrah for the season, I left it up to Elf.

Stage 1: Unbearable Excitement

The days coming up to going home are the slowest days of your existence, although that doesn't stop you from smiling when a teacher or friend asks you when you're going home. Last semester I only went home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so coming home felt like a holiday on its own.

Stage 2: Question Bombardment

You made it! You've packed up your car with the 'essentials' for the next month with the help of your family and you're on your way home. Some nights sitting up at the library you may have felt like you wouldn't have made it this far, but boy, look at you now! However, now that your family has your undivided attention for the next few hours, here comes the worst part. It's not like the simple questions you'll be asked at family parties like your GPA but it's more in depth like: "How much time did you spend in the library?" "What clubs are you in?" "How did you blow through all your semester and half of next semester's allowance?" The list goes on and on, and I'd personally rather not relive it.

Stage 3: Welcoming the Holidays

This is by far one of the best parts of coming home. You've survived a semester and a never-ending flow of questions and now it's time to sit back and relax with your family. Most of the time extended family doesn't go too in-depth with their questioning, and if they do, your mom probably already informed them with all she knows. At this point, it's time to sit back, relax and enjoy any gifts that you should be so lucky to get!

Stage 4: Friends Reuniting

Now, this is the peak of your 'home happiness' as I call it. After the reunion of your best friends from home, things start to get kind of boring as you all begin to realize you have things to do. Despite it being 'the peak' of being home, it will always be my favorite part. Running into your best friend's arms after being without them for a few months is practically life changing. You all go around as you talk about college, your new friends, and lifestyle, but even though it's been months since a gathering like this has happened, it's great to feel as if nothing has changed.

Stage 5: Dreaded Appointments

As I mentioned, being home starts to get boring. Now that you're home for only a few weeks, it's the only real chance to get things done. Being forced to go to physicals, eye exams, blood tests and so on in the span of a week or so is normal among college students. For someone who hates going to the doctors, it stinks, however, there is only a short period of time to get it all done.

Stage 6: Realizing You Lost Your Independence

"What time will you be home?" "No, that's too late." "Who are you going out with and what are you doing?" These phrases and questions have always been active in conversations within my household since middle school and this is the thing I personally hate the most about being home. At college I could be out until 4 A.M. with people my parents have never met before and they could have no idea, but they trust me to make the smart decisions with them hundreds of miles away. It's hard for me to understand why they have to become so restrictive and almost untrusting with me while I'm at most twenty miles away.

Stage 7: Getting Bored

As you and your friends either pick up old jobs or try to keep busy by helping around the house, we all feel as though we've slipped back into the same old routine we were trying so hard to escape four months ago. It's tough to admit, but without classes and assignments, there's nothing really new to do in our lives. After a while, there is only so many series you can watch or hours you can work before you get bored of the same old routine and start to miss the busy lifestyle you had back at school.

Stage 8: Arguing with Family

When you first arrived home, you were welcomed with open arms. My parents practically waited on my hand and foot, while I do admit that I loved it, my laziness and wanting to sleep until noon got old really quick. As they say: "you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone." However, I believe in adding on. Once it returns you act as though it never left, which means that everything goes back to normal. You and your family members will eventually get tired of each other again and that's okay. The cycle will soon change and you'll miss them eventually, even if you don't think that's possible right now.

Stage 9: Missing Your Other Home

While the arguing continues and you find yourself getting more and more bored, you start to wonder why you could've ever wanted to leave college. You almost find yourself counting down the days until you arrive back to your dorm and get thrown into the next semester full of new friends. You then become more excited to get your independence back and see your college friends and you'll sit around and talk about what went on back home, just as if you never left.

With that, I want to wish you all a safe trip back to school as well as a fun-filled, successful spring semester!