Congratulations, the semester is finally over! For months on end, you have been encouraged to not sleep, work had in your studies, and eat food that may not be so good for you. Now is a time to recuperate and a time of opportunity to get back to (what used to be considered) normal. Accommodating to such transitions may be scary at first and may take a few days to set in a home routine. During this period of change, you may feel stressed at times with the thought that a paper might be due tomorrow or that you missed your 8 a.m. (again). Have no fear, BREAK IS HERE!
1. Bedtime going from 2 a.m. reduced 10 p.m.
Whether it’s staying up late to finish a paper due the next day or you’re out partying, the sleep schedule gets turned around. Right around 9 o’clock, you start to feel the sleeps coming. You stop and think for a moment to evaluate your day – am I sick? Did I sleep last night? Answers may vary, but generally, the comfort of being back in one’s own home is one of the best feelings ever. Therefore, grab a book and hit the hay early.
2. Full-time classwork to temporary employment
In high school, kids had the opportunity to work after school jobs whether it was coaching for a sports team or working at a retail store. Now that college resembles the majority amount of one’s time consumption, it is more difficult to maintain a side job. With the next 4-8 weeks off of school, time now permits for people who follow this college pattern to re-join the workforce for a little while. Seeing familiar faces and making a little money is always a great way to come back home.
3. Pizza belly control to voluntarily going to the gym
There may be a cross intersection to the two of these variables. As much as you tried to go to the gym and workout at school to maintain the figure, only so much progress happened. Now that you have more time, you have the opportunity to focus on reducing any unwanted calories hidden in the tum. Rather than having to plan a whole training routine and shower in between classes, there is now the freedom to go at your leisure.
4. Carrying a backpack to a purse/satchel
I used to believe that having a “freshman backpack” was only a myth and if it ever were real, it would only be for freshman year. Three years later and I am pretty sure that my backpack has doubled in size, full of more work and material. Luckily, we have a break and are now only responsible for carrying a purse or satchel if necessary.
5. Consistent shower routines
Depending on the living arrangements at school, the chances of living with at least one other individual or multiple at a time are high. Therefore, this requires having certain shower schedules so that not showering is not an option and then people won't smell bad (hopefully). Of course, shower schedules may be prevalent in homes that have more people than showers as well. However in those cases, it is acceptable to fight over the bathroom, especially if your sister has been occupying it for over an hour. Now, there is a lesser chance that you will have to skip bath day.
6.Carrying college ID at all times to car/house keys
Calling public safety because you forgot your ID in your room (again), meaning that you lose all access to almost every necessity on campus, is no longer an issue for at least the next month. Now, your only responsibility is to remember where you put the car/house keys last. This could also place an issue, except for when technology gets involved; there's a really cool button that allows us to locate them when lost.
7. Communal laundry machines to personal machines
Communal laundry rooms are meant to be flawed – paying by the load, all machines occupied, dryers eating socks or machines out of order. Whatever the situation may hold, the ability to avoid the majority, if not all issues are confined to your personal machines. Free laundry exists, the potential for someone to move your wet clothes onto the dryer is limited, and if your dryer consumes socks, you should probably get that one checked.
8. All-carb, empty calorie diet to greens and proteins
Sometimes, it is better to choose the bag of Doritos instead of the cheese engorged fried chicken that has resided under the heating lamp for at least three hours. Then, there are those moments when you decide to sacrifice your hunger for no food at all. Healthier options are more accessible now that you are home and have the opportunity to explore your parents’ cabinets. The best is when you come home to a home-cooked meal with mom’s best interest, knowing that this is your favorite dish.
9. Required reading to pleasure
With the amount of readings and lecture notes given in school, it is almost impossible to find time to enjoy and complete a book at the same time. The desire to read even more can be difficult especially after completing four chapters, that consists of approximately 80 pages per section, due the next day for just one class. While on break, I find the time to find a new book and read it at my own leisure and my appreciation for literature revives.
10. Binge drinking to casual drinking
For the most part, college kids have a tendency to drink excessively while at school, especially if they know they can get away with it.Regardless of being of the legal age, the difference of drinking quantity is substantial. There is a small fraction of people who do not mind if their parents see them plastered. As for the majority, limiting drinks to one or two is not uncommon while in the presence of family members.
11. Limited space to having an abundance of privacy
Regardless to the amount of space obtained at your permanent home, there will always be enough space to take a moment and breath. Even with a full house, the ability to go outside and take a walk without risking the chance of running into a fellow classmate or colleague is highly probable.
12. Ability to control heating/cooling system
Generally in buildings that hold mass amounts of people, the ability to change temperature to one’s own liking can be restricted. Sometimes even with the least bit of chill outside, the internal heat of the building will shoot up to 75 degrees or higher and there is only so much space that windows can fully extend. Then there are the times where the heat decides not to kick in on days with 20 degrees or less. Even if you do return to a home with this form of a controlling system, there is a good chance that you may be allowed to have extra heaters or air-cooling systems to help regulate the temperature to your liking.
13. Having school and extracurricular activities to freedom to do anything
These next few weeks are the only times where it is truly acceptable (by your own standards) to do whatever you want on your own time. Unless mommy and daddy still have the rights to control your schedules, you can binge watch a whole 7 seasons of a show without having to worry about deadlines for assignments or friends checking up on you to see if you are still alive in your dorm. This is a precious time to do anything. Treasure it.
14. Dressing up to down and vise versa
This factor is contingent to the lifestyle that you may have been raised in prior to college. Some students were raised to dress business casual every day back at home whereas there were the kids that never had clothing restrictions from their parents. Then, there are the colleges that hold unofficial high-social standards, informally requiring that students dress nicely as opposed to the ones where sweats and t-shirts are popular attire on campus and flip flops are considered as year-round shoes.
15. Going by your own rules to mom/dad's schedule
Personally, my parents have given me space and flexibility as to where and when I go to places while home for break ever since I entered college. Their philosophy is, “We have let her go to college, that is enough responsibility on its own”. Admittedly, my mother will sometimes slip the question, “Will you be home for dinner tonight?” only for reasons pertaining to if she is cooking or doing takeout that night for the family. However, that may not be the case for all college kids. Some parents are still very strict about curfews and proximity to home, of course with good intent that their child is safe from harm. In both situations, there is always going to be some measure of informing mom and/or dad while at home at least once.
16. Congregating 5+ people into someone’s 12 x 10 bedroom to spreading out
No longer is space truly an issue where all your friends gather into your double-sized dorm anymore. Rather, you can now have people spread throughout the living room, kitchen, dining room, anything. Now, there is flexibility and you don’t have to rely on potentially spooning with a fellow friend when you’re just trying to have a normal conversation. Watching television can now be seen on an actual “normal sized” TV instead of crowding around your 15” screen to watch a poor-quality movie that cuts in and out due to a weak Internet.
17. Having an "Errands Day" to picking up a couple of things
There are some households in which parents go out and hunt for food whereas others, it may be each one for their own. The difference between home and school is that now, you have more time to shop if needed at all. I remember there were certain days throughout the month in which a roommate or two would clear their schedules and we would all hop in the car to go shopping. I do not mean frivolous, unnecessary shopping, but more so, going into town and running errands to three or more stores. This process is a true event, seeing that not all people have the time to go shopping whenever they please during school because of busy schedules. The pressure has lifted and you no longer have to plan in advance as much as you do while at school.
