Every year, there's a big song and dance about being "home for the holidays". We all hear it, and some people get extremely excited about the thought of being in their old childhood home at Christmas (or whatever holiday you observe). I didn't really get this whole thing growing up because, well, I was already home. I'm sitting in the airport now, all packed and ready to be home for an entire month, and I think now I finally understand what being home for the holidays truly means.
As a kid, I don't think I appreciated being in California as much as I do now. I didn't really understand the songs about snow and winter wonderlands, and I didn't think too much about the thought of being home for the holidays. That just seemed like another cheesy Hallmark movie. Now that I've been away in Michigan, I get why it's such a big deal to be home for Christmas.
First, I get to go home to California. A place where 70 degrees is considered freezing and we spend New Year's Eve on the beach. There will be no snow on Christmas morning, and I'm okay with that.
When you've been away from home for a while, you've been away from your friends. So coming home means getting to see your best friends that you haven't seen since the summer, or even back to graduation. You get to catch up with each other and tell each other all of your college stories. It's the best feeling to finally see them and tell them all about what life is like "after the bells stop ringing" (as they always said at my high school).
The thing I'm probably most excited to go home to is the food. There is always that one restaurant or one chain that you wish was in your college town. Adrian is a small town; we don't have much. West coast chains like In-N-Out and Del Taco are things that I cherish and truly miss while I'm at school. You also can't get a lot of ethnic food in Michigan, at least not good ethnic food. You better believe that my first meal off the plane was Indian food from my favorite place in Anaheim.
Besides all of the food and great weather, you get to be with your family. The holidays are a time where you get to sleep in your old bed and have the same breakfast you had everyday in high school. You get to hang out with your siblings and do fun things now that you're not studying. Family is everything.
Suffice to say, I'm excited to go home. I love Christmas, and I love the feeling that you get during the holidays with family. California is truly the best place to be during holidays, in my opinion, but I'm sure your home is great, as well. It may be really cheesy to say that hope is where the heart is, but it's kind of true. We should all be excited to go home for the holidays.
