7 Reasons the End of Winter Break is Actually the Best

Okay, like every other college student, I love break. For obvious reasons. And I dread going back to campus. Second semester is hard. It starts in the winter, and motivating yourself to go to a 9 AM class is hard enough when there’s not a foot of snow on the ground. But honestly? I’m ready to go back. For those of you already back on your respective campuses, maybe you can relate. And for those, like me, who are waiting to go back, here’s something to look forward to!

1. Snacks!

Alright, maybe I just have food on the brain, but back at school, I don’t have to share my snacks with anyone. With my meal plan, I don’t have to spend real money on food, like, ever. And my roommate understands me and doesn’t judge me for eating more sunflower seeds in a week than most major-league baseball teams.

2. Syllabus week!

Okay, so you have to actually go to class, which sucks. But the good thing about the first week of classes is that, unless your professor is actually the devil, you’re probably not going to have any homework. I actually really like the classes I take, for the most part, it’s just all the work they pile on that gets to me. So I love spending a week learning without all the extra effort.

3. College friends!

Everyone from home is great and all, but you don’t have to explain everything you say and retell all your stories to your college friends. They were there, they know. You don’t have to catch them up, but chances are, you still have a few good stories from home to tell them, which will be fresh and new. And on that note…

4. Getting away from hometown acquaintances!

Let me tell you a story. Last week I went to Victoria’s Secret for their awesome Semi-Annual Sale. And you know who was there? Half the girls in my graduating class. We all very intentionally avoided eye contact because we weren’t entirely sure of each other’s names, and it was awful. It’s the same way at the grocery store. I’m tired of all these awkward encounters!

5. Guilt-free late nights!

I love my parents. I really do. But when you’re the only one awake in the house at 10:15, it’s kind of awful. Because naturally I want to make popcorn or watch House Hunters or something, but can’t without waking my parents up. Or, when they do stay up late, they’re surprised that you do, too. “Go to bed, it’s late.” says my mom at 11:00. I’ll be up for another two hours, actually.

6. Independence!

I guess this is just the rest of the day’s version of staying up late. Want to go to Pizza Hut at two in the morning? Everyone else probably does too. Middle of the afternoon dance party with the roommate? No one’s going to tell you no. Want to watch lame game shows all day and then do homework ’til sunrise? Also fine. You get to make the rules, and maybe you’re bad at it (I know I am!) but it’s liberating.

7. You actually love it.

Look, there’s a reason you chose that school. There’s a moment when you walk across the quad, watching frat stars build lewd sculptures in the snow while Southerners panic about the cold, and remember why you chose this place. And it feels right… Until you get hit in the head with a snowball. But then again, love always feels like a battlefield.

I’ve convinced myself to go back, at least. Did you get a winter break? What was the best part of it? What’s the best part of being back?