Ho-Ho-Hometown Holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Congrats on completing Fall semester 2016. After 16 straight weeks of school, winter break brings the end to a long strenuous semester as well as an end to what can only be described as a very interesting year. A well needed break from education, winter break is a month of relaxation and reunion. College students across the nation return home in time for the holiday season and all the joy it brings with it. Every person spends their time differently, with some picking up shifts at the job they’ve worked at since high school, and others jetting of to tropical locations for vacation. I personally spend my time catching up on hours of sleep and eating take out from all my favorite places. Returning to the home town means running into a lot of familiar faces and giving a general overview of your life to them. “Oh I’m up at Albany.” “Yeah I love it there.” “What about you, how have you been” “Oh that’s great, I’m so happy for you.” “Alright I’ll see you around.” It’s really repetitive and at times annoying but It’s definitely a common occurrence, especially where I am from. When you’re away at college, your life in high school feels like a million years ago, but returning home brings back the people who known you for so many years. The funny thing is they don’t really know you at all. One semester at college and you’ve already learned so much that has shaped you as a person. Among those awkward high school reunions come the reunion of friends and family. Me and my group of about 14 friends do a secret Santa party every year since, which is one of the only times we’re all together at the same time. We also get together for New Years Eve, decking ourselves out in sparkly dresses and ties. I hate to say that I forget about my close friends while I’m away but distance does make the heart grow fonder and the more time that goes on the more I see us staying a unit of friends into adulthood. Seeing family over the holidays is what makes coming home really worth it. Besides the obvious benefit of being showered in gifts, it also really great to spend quality time with people who love you the most. Although my family drives me nuts sometimes, it can be quite nice waking up to my mother and brothers in the morning. Of course as sweet as coming home is, it gets old pretty quickly and I personally spend the last weeks of break excited to return to my friends and my life in Albany.

Melissa F.
Class of 2018
Majors: Spanish & Communication
Blog Theme: Fierce & Freaked

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