The 4 Parts of a College Student’s Thanksgiving Break
As Thanksgiving came to an end, it was tough to realize that school started today. Yes, for those of you who are still sitting in bed at home, classes began again this morning. It’s was especially tough to be motivated to go to class today because some high schools had today off. You know what they say though, Penn State never cancels class for anything, not even national holidays.
It never fails to amaze me how fast time flies while I’m on break, yet as soon as I step foot on campus time slows down to the pace of a sloth. But finals will be here before you know it and then the second semester and soon enough college will be over. Sorry, getting a tad ahead of myself there…
Anyways, this break has had four very distinct parts to it, parts that changed without notice, and I’m hoping I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Sleep:
Sleep started as soon as I got home, a few hours after the home football game Saturday. It was freezing – literally – so it took a good bit of time to thaw out before hitting the road and getting caught in the normal football traffic. But once I got home it was warm greetings from the family, a quick meal, unpacking the essentials, and then off to bed.
My bed at home is infinitely better than my bed at school. It’s larger, warmer (especially with the added bonus of a cat curled between your legs as you sleep), and much quieter because it isn’t in the same room as two other beds. Even when I’m not sleeping I’m still in bed; relaxing, reading, watching terrible (yet wonderful) movies on Netflix, or just daydreaming. I love my bed. It’s one of my favorite things about being home. And no class equals no problems, so my bed is where I lay for most of the beginning of break.
Boredom:
Too much of one thing can always be bad, no matter what that thing is. Eventually, this seemingly wonderful laziness turns into boredom. There’s nothing good on TV, Facebook hasn’t changed in hours, and doing something productive actually seems like a good idea. As I venture out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen, there’s still nothing to do. Boredom is like a disease, once one person gets it, it seems to spread to the entire family. Before you know it, everyone is lined up in front of the TV, in their PJs, all ready for a night full of, well, nothing. When all hope is lost, I felt I may never find anything to do, but eventually my pain was relieved on Thursday.
Family:
Finally, Thanksgiving is here to save the day. As my family and I piled into the car, I couldn’t help but think of all the family members I hadn’t seen in months or even years. As strange as family can be sometimes, especially when they try and comment on your Facebook posts, you still have to love them, because they’re family.
Thanksgiving is always a special time for me for many reasons. First, it’s a time that signifies a good number of the birthdays in our family, so we always have cake and presents on Thanksgiving. Also, stuffing your face is almost a cultural norm. Thanksgiving food – turkey, pumpkin pie, stuffing, and mashed potatoes – are some of my favorite holiday foods. Lastly, corny as it sounds, giving thanks for the things that my family and I have is one of my favorite parts of the holiday. It’s always nice to reminisce on the past and think about how much has changed since last Thanksgiving.
Stress:
I have a paper due Tuesday morning? I thought that test was the next Monday!
After a long night of digesting, all the realizations of post-Thanksgiving seem to hit me at once. The time that I had planned to spend with friends or my family now must be focused back on school before school even begins again. Looks like I’ll be locking myself in my room for the next few days, not to relax more but to get schoolwork done.
And along with the stress of next week’s classes, finals are just around the corner and many companies are starting their internship or post-graduation job interviews. Everything seems to hit full force the second break is over.
But there, in the horizon, an oasis! Christmas Break is only three weeks away, two Monday’s of classes and a week of finals. And it will be here before you know it, it always works like that. Time to hit the books, finals here I come.
It never fails to amaze me how fast time flies while I’m on break, yet as soon as I step foot on campus time slows down to the pace of a sloth. But finals will be here before you know it and then the second semester and soon enough college will be over. Sorry, getting a tad ahead of myself there…
Anyways, this break has had four very distinct parts to it, parts that changed without notice, and I’m hoping I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Sleep:
Sleep started as soon as I got home, a few hours after the home football game Saturday. It was freezing – literally – so it took a good bit of time to thaw out before hitting the road and getting caught in the normal football traffic. But once I got home it was warm greetings from the family, a quick meal, unpacking the essentials, and then off to bed.
My bed at home is infinitely better than my bed at school. It’s larger, warmer (especially with the added bonus of a cat curled between your legs as you sleep), and much quieter because it isn’t in the same room as two other beds. Even when I’m not sleeping I’m still in bed; relaxing, reading, watching terrible (yet wonderful) movies on Netflix, or just daydreaming. I love my bed. It’s one of my favorite things about being home. And no class equals no problems, so my bed is where I lay for most of the beginning of break.
Boredom:
Too much of one thing can always be bad, no matter what that thing is. Eventually, this seemingly wonderful laziness turns into boredom. There’s nothing good on TV, Facebook hasn’t changed in hours, and doing something productive actually seems like a good idea. As I venture out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen, there’s still nothing to do. Boredom is like a disease, once one person gets it, it seems to spread to the entire family. Before you know it, everyone is lined up in front of the TV, in their PJs, all ready for a night full of, well, nothing. When all hope is lost, I felt I may never find anything to do, but eventually my pain was relieved on Thursday.
Family:
Finally, Thanksgiving is here to save the day. As my family and I piled into the car, I couldn’t help but think of all the family members I hadn’t seen in months or even years. As strange as family can be sometimes, especially when they try and comment on your Facebook posts, you still have to love them, because they’re family.
Thanksgiving is always a special time for me for many reasons. First, it’s a time that signifies a good number of the birthdays in our family, so we always have cake and presents on Thanksgiving. Also, stuffing your face is almost a cultural norm. Thanksgiving food – turkey, pumpkin pie, stuffing, and mashed potatoes – are some of my favorite holiday foods. Lastly, corny as it sounds, giving thanks for the things that my family and I have is one of my favorite parts of the holiday. It’s always nice to reminisce on the past and think about how much has changed since last Thanksgiving.
Stress:
I have a paper due Tuesday morning? I thought that test was the next Monday!
After a long night of digesting, all the realizations of post-Thanksgiving seem to hit me at once. The time that I had planned to spend with friends or my family now must be focused back on school before school even begins again. Looks like I’ll be locking myself in my room for the next few days, not to relax more but to get schoolwork done.
And along with the stress of next week’s classes, finals are just around the corner and many companies are starting their internship or post-graduation job interviews. Everything seems to hit full force the second break is over.
But there, in the horizon, an oasis! Christmas Break is only three weeks away, two Monday’s of classes and a week of finals. And it will be here before you know it, it always works like that. Time to hit the books, finals here I come.
