College is the time for learning, but it”s also the time when most students make the complete transition into adulthood. That means it”s a time of tremendous change and students start experiencing everything, including the holiday season, in a different way.
When holidays like Christmas are experienced as an adult, they are far less exciting than when they were experienced as child. It”s less “I can”t sleep because I”m so excited to see what Santa will bring” and more, “I guess I could use a new pair of socks.”
As a third-year student with few semesters left, I couldn”t help but feel overwhelmed with nostalgia upon returning to California for winter break. While moving away from family isn”t the best option for every student following graduation, I have no intention of returning to the state I came from.
It occurred to me that I”ll only return home maybe one or two more times before I graduate, and even now breaks have become a time to focus on finding internships and jobs and exploring different avenues as an individual.
As bittersweet as this may be, it”s also another part of the natural process that is growing up.
Corrin Bond
As students grow older, how they spend the holiday season begins to change.
Holidays are no longer a time for celebration so much as they are a time to unwind and de-stress after a long semester, and many students use the holiday season as a time to make extra money to save for upcoming semesters or to start planning for the future.
Not every student has the privilege of heading home for the holidays, but those who do shouldn”t forget the importance of appreciating the time spent with remote loved ones.
It may be hard to relax and just enjoy any holiday or time off from school, but taking a moment to appreciate something that won”t last forever is going to mean more in the long-run than finishing an assignment early or getting ahead in school.
It”s also important to remember that, at the end of the day, students need to do what is best for themselves.
Some students need to stay in Moscow to work over breaks while others choose to take remote internships rather than head back home.
For graduating seniors, whether they”re moving across the country or deciding to move back home, they should know that no one way of living is right for everyone.
Moving back or staying near family does not make that person less independent than the person who moves across the country, and leaving family to live somewhere new doesn”t mean that person doesn”t care.
Holidays aren”t the same as they once were, and neither are breaks from school, but it”s important to understand and appreciate that everything – holidays, breaks, family dynamics – is going to change, and it might not always be easy, but that”s OK.
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CorrBond