For many students, Thanksgiving is one of the best times of the year to spend at home. There’s all that delicious home cooked food and endless pumpkin pie. While this semester is flying by, many students cannot believe it’s already November. Before we know it, this semester will have concluded and the winter season will be upon us. As the dropping temperatures warn us of frosty months to come, students are eager to get a break from the grueling schoolwork and approaching cold walks to class.
Thanksgiving is the holiday known for being appreciative. As a kid, you grow used to having your parents do certain things for you, and you don’t give them as much thanks as they deserve. But after spending almost three months at school, eating questionable dining hall food and paying to do your own laundry, most students are pumped to head back to their households.
Most students are eagerly awaiting the upcoming break. Malcolm Chavis, a sophomore theater major, is looking forward to many things, including “home cooking, not having to do laundry, using my car and seeing friends.”
When he is home, Chavis appreciates the time he gets to spend with his family since he doesn’t get to see them much during school. The big thing Chavis truly appreciates while being home is his beloved means of transportation. “I really enjoy my car; it makes me happy to sit in it.”
Others are also looking forward to the time spent with family. Alexandra Stambaugh, a sophomore music education major, is looking forward to being home because she appreciates her parents and everything they do for her.
Stambaugh added, “I definitely appreciate my pets more [when I’m home]; I miss them welcoming me home every day!” Stambaugh’s plans for break include a lot of laundry, painting and going to church with her family.
One thing each and every student in college can agree on is the wonderful feeling of being home and showering without flip flops on. The basic comforts of home life are something we don’t think about much until we get to a dorm setting.
Danielle Romanowski, a sophomore business finance major, is really looking forward to “Homemade meals, even though my mom can’t cook, and showering without flip flops.”
Natorye Miller, a sophomore political science major, can attest to that statement. She also looks forward to “showering without shoes! I appreciate not having to shower without shoes, and nothing is better than a home cooked meal.” Good food and clean showers: the little things in life that all college students treasure.
Does it really take moving away to a university setting to get students to appreciate things? Professor Claude Taylor, an athletics professor-in-residence and a first year advisor, meets about 50-60 first year students each fall.
Taylor notes the comparison between school and home life, and explained that, “There are so many new ideas, experiences and people during the first semester, sometimes students take comfort in the retreat back to what they have known at home. It’s predictable and safe, while college can be disorienting and scary to adjust too.”
For many first year students, these first few fall months are full of stress. What better way to relax these students than a few days to relax at home?
So, is it necessary for students to go away to school in order to appreciate the comforts of home? Taylor said the answer is not black and white, “if students challenge themselves and expand their horizons, it can help one to appreciate home live and family of origin. If you play it safe at college and only socialize with people most like the people you know at home, it may be harder to notice a difference.”
The beauty of college is meeting different kinds of people and Taylor points out that by creating all these new friendships, we appreciate our families and friends from home because they are different.
Since Taylor meets so many new faces each year, he has seen how students adapt to college life. His advice to first year students who may be desperately awaiting the upcoming break is this: “Take it slow and develop a routine. By take it slow, I mean don’t rush to fit in or re-make yourself. It can be a pretty significant transition for some students. By develop a routine, I mean students should focus on their daily and weekly schedule and get accustomed to the routine of the semester. Eventually, students start to develop their individual routine which helps to break away from what school was like back at home.”
Before students know it, college life is the part of their lives that seems normal. For some students, home life feels very far away whilst at the University. While we all go home for a few days to eat some turkey, we will appreciate the family and friends that surround us and look forward to coming back to our college routines. It’s important that each and every one of us remembers to be appreciative not only of our lives at home, but also the one we are lucky to have here at college.
IMAGE TAKEN from collegechoice.net
