There is something about that hometown air that awaken emotions you thought were buried
So, we’ve reached the end of the fall semester…almost… hang in there. It’s just about that time of year where you pack a duffel bag or two suitcases worth of clothes that you probably won’t wear and return to from whence you came. For some people, this time of year is a time of rest and relaxation, they get to see friends they haven’t seen in a long time, catch up with relatives, and celebrate the holidays in a loving environment that allows them to be the truest version of themselves. Those people also probably peaked in high school. So for those of us who dread spending an extended period of time at our parents’ house, here is a quick and dirty guide to surviving these next few weeks.
STEP ONE: DELAY THE JOURNEY HOME FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE
For some, the only problem with going home for the holidays is that the holidays sometimes last a full month, so do your best to shorten that time a little bit. Say you have a meeting with your professor on the 20th, or something equally untrue, I don’t care.
STEP TWO: REACCLIMATE TO YOUR HOME’S ECOSYSTEM
Something that is extremely jarring to me when I return to my parents’ house, is the different environment that comes with it. No more drunk roommates stumbling in at 1:30 a.m., no more muffled music coming through the walls of your dorm, just the eerie sounds of silence (and the ice maker). You’ll also need to re-learn the layout of your childhood bedroom, because it has either been A) turned into a storage closet, B) totally reorganized and turned into a guest room, or in my case, C)hHad the walls taken down so that my dad’s man-cave could have more seating, more speakers, and a bigger TV (the TV does look sick though its like 90 inches across, its worth sleeping on the couch for).
STEP THREE: FIND FUN WHERE YOU CAN
I think that in order to enjoy being home with family for the holidays, you need to pull joy from the small things. This could look like a bunch of different things, but some of my personal favourites are:
- Bringing a bottle of hard liquor to Christmas dinner
- Getting blind-drunk at Christmas dinner
- Getting into loud, incoherent arguments with extended family at Christmas dinner
- Throwing up at Christmas dinner
- Being told to go to my room because I ruined Christmas dinner
- Sneaking out my window, then knocking on the front door to further interrupt Christmas dinner
- Throwing up at Christmas dinner (again)
STEP FOUR: UNDERSTAND SOME THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME
We can look back on the past and remember the good times with fondness, but we’ll never be able to recreate those memories. When you visit your old hangout spots, with your old friends, doing the same things you used to, understand that it will feel different and learn to accept that it isn’t because those things have changed, it is because you and your friends have grown, and experience the world differently because of that, which is as beautiful as it is difficult to accept.
STEP FIVE: LEAVE
Fuck being introspective about personal growth, probably best to just go back to school and not think about it.