As your college years move along, the nature of winter break and what you want to do during your precious three weeks at home changes. During freshman year, coming home for winter break is huge. It is likely the first time you’ve been home for any substantial period at the same time as your friends since you left, so, accordingly, mostly consists of a totally un-relaxing combination of trying to sleep a lot and also trying to see everyone you haven’t seen in four months. I remember my freshman year winter break being an absolute whirlwind of catching up with everyone I could think of while also trying to sleep 12 hours a night and make sure I spent enough time sitting on the couch with my dad.
During sophomore year winter break, relationships with friends from home have likely grown more distant and emphasis is mostly on seeing those select few with whom you’ve kept contact. The social pool is smaller and you prioritize those who are clearly going to stick around in your life for a while.
This results in a much calmer, more leisurely break where you don’t actually have to schedule in all the couch time, it just kind of happens. Spending significant time with your family also becomes more consciously important as breaks are getting fewer and farther between and who knows if you will actually be home for all of next summer.
Junior year winter break is even farther down this trajectory of prioritizing fewer friendships and relationships more strongly. This winter break, I found myself talking to a select few people before I came home, excitedly planning our reunion after not seeing one another for a year. The focus isn’t on seeing everyone you went to high school with, because chances are you haven’t even thought the majority of their names in months. You are probably going to be much more interesting in quality over quantity and making sure you get a full share of the most important people as the future becomes more and more uncertain. Plus, you still want to sleep a lot.
This evolution of priorities for winter break reflect a changing perspective in terms of friendship. As time wears on, it becomes clear exactly who is going to stay in our lives and who may not be as present. This is obvious in who you are texting to make plans weeks in advance and who you are willing to devote hours of your precious three weeks to.
