Each semester feels like it goes by faster and faster. Between classes, homework, my part-time job, my sorority, and everything else, I keep myself pretty busy. Going from 90 miles per hour to 0 can be quite the change when you go home for break.
I just finished up the first semester of my third year at college. THIRD YEAR! Where has the time gone? It's hard to beat that feeling of relief you get when you turn in your last final project, or walk out the door of your last final exam. You're done, and all that's left is to wait for the grades.
I'm from a small town not too far from campus. As much as I love going home and taking a break from the crazy college schedule, it takes some adjusting.
For starters, I can actually relax. I have free time. I don't have projects or due dates.... Sometimes, I don't even know what to do with myself. During my first week of break, I've already binged multiple shows on Netflix, made Christmas cookies, and helped decorate the house. I'm already putting together a list of all the things I want to do over break (because I can't seem to let myself not be busy).
It's also a strange feeling to come home, and everything looks the same but having a sense that there's something different.... There have been subtle changes that I can't quite place. Maybe it's the memory fading, but has that chair always been there? I don't remember the mugs being in this cabinet. It's like I don't even go here.
The freedom and wide range of things for me to do on campus is something that I often take for granted during the school term. Sure, I love spending time with my family and hanging out with them. My twin brother and I love to catch up over Netflix and Rocket League. We are especially geeking out over the new Star Wars movie that we are all going to see together. My mom and I also have our own holiday tradition of watching cheesy chic-flic Christmas movies – it's a guilty pleasure of ours. Now that I'm home, I find that my social life has declined drastically...but in a good way. It's nice to slow down and take a break, catch up with family. After a month, I'll definitely be ready to pick up the busy schedule again.
Another thing I am definitely going to miss is the fast wifi and tech available to me while at school. I grew up with dial-up, the slowest form of Internet ever – it might as well have been the Stone Age. Internet sooo slow that if you wanted to download a song, you would have to do it in the dead of night, when you wouldn't risk a phone call ruining your download. Luckily, we have since upgraded, and it's gotten a lot faster... but it's nothing compared to RIT's.
Nothing beats home-cooked meals. Not going to lie, my cooking skills are not as good as my mom's (--hopefully she reads this). While at school, I am always calling home when I'm trying to cook something new – other than pasta. "Mom, how long do I cook this?" "What should I set the oven temperature to?" There is so much more variety at home than what I'm used to. When I cook at college, my meals consist of pasta, chicken, occasionally rice, and mostly more pasta. Home cooking is a nice change.
Even though it will take some getting use to, words cannot describe how nice it is to be home (but I'll try – this is s blog after all). This is my favorite time of the year, and I could not imagine spending it anywhere else. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, and a happy new year.