Christmas break: A time for family, old friends, a break from classes, and of course, a time to be slowly driven insane by the fact that even though you would rather not be in class itself, you're withering away from laying on the couch and watching all nine seasons of The Office for the third time in a month. Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year, but by the time I get to the middle of January, I am more than ready to get back to a routine that doesn't involve me waiting to take a shower until three in the afternoon. Between those two feelings are all of the other moments in between; the stages of being home for Christmas.

Stage 1: The end of Finals' Week.

There is truly nothing like packing up your things to go home knowing that you won't have to pick up a textbook or take notes for a lecture for a month.

Stage 2: How many naps can I take today?

When you have nothing to do, you might as well take advantage of it.

Stage 3: Friendship reunions

The longer the time, the louder the reunion.

Stage 4: Christmas Fever.

The best time of the year to spend time with family and also gawk over the presents you got because God knows you have no money to buy any of those gifts for yourself.

Stage 5: Post-Christmas Slump

Stage 6: Small New Years' Spike

A small reprieve from the span of doing nothing, New Years' is a time where you get to spend time with your friends or family and say a much-needed goodbye to the previous year (especially this one).

Stage 6: The Countdown

As spring semester nears, the time has come to count down your return, make plans to make this semester slightly better than your last, and ensure that you immediately see all of your friends so that you can all reminisce about how much nothing you did over your winter breaks.

The Final Stage: The Return

When you're finally unpacked and ready to start school back up, there's nothing better than being back in your element for another four months of school.