Imagine sitting in a 12-by-15-foot bedroom with a dozen fellow college freshmen, half-empty beer cans poured into plastic red cups arranged in geometric patterns on a long table - sound familiar? There is a knock at the door. Upon opening it, you discover that it is not your overly strict RA, your creepy hallmate or an unwelcome party guest, but an even more daunting force: your mother. You are not at Tufts, and you don't need a fob to get into your house: It's winter break.
With finals approaching in less than a week, college freshmen across the nation are faced with yet another novelty in the never-ending string of adjustments they are forced to make. After finally becoming settled, developing new friends, social habits, sleeping patterns and daily routines, it's now time to pack up and return home to once again live under parental care. For some, this adjustment might be almost as taxing as the initial move to college.
According to "You CAN Go Home Again," a counseling article put out by The University of Wisconsin, "[t]he place you grew up in will become less 'my house' and more 'my parent's house' every time you go home. More and more, your place will be where you live and keep your stuff at school. Just as you want friends to respect your place when they come where you live, respect your parent's place as well."
Those who were able to get home already had a quick taste of what it's like to return to family life during Thanksgiving break. Los Angeles native and freshman Eric Takasugi, who flew home for the break, was surprised at the ease of going back. "If my parents had made a big deal [about me coming home], I would have felt like a guest in my own house," he said.
Tagasuki, who is looking forward to another break, plans to spend the three-and-a-half-week vacation "hanging out [and] seeing friends," until he returns early for a Tufts orchestra trip. "It'll be good to see the friends I haven't seen in a while ... but I won't have a white Christmas in L.A.," he said jokingly.
The University of New Hampshire Counseling Center's article entitled "Holiday Stress" pointed out that "[f]or many, holidays are shared with family, friends and loved ones, yet for many this can be a difficult or dreaded time. At home, some feel weighted down by old rules or expectations."
Freshman Rachael Hogan, from Williamstown, Mass. (located three hours from Tufts) is excited at the prospect of seeing her family again, but agrees that it might be difficult. "It'll be strange to have to deal with my parents asking questions again," Hogan said. "But I think they'll treat me as though I'm more responsible and let me stay out later."
Sophomore Adam Santos recounted his freshman experience going home for winter break. "You get a lot of freedom at school, and you don't realize it until you go home," he said. "It was weird ... I was at a weird point with friends at home. I was just starting to make friends here [at Tufts], and they were all in the same boat." The Chicago native was able to spend the break last year catching up with buddies and jogging.
Changing friendships can also present uncomfortable or unfamiliar circumstances for freshman. "We all have our separate lives now, whereas before, we all knew everything about each other," Hogan said of her hometown comrades.
Winter break presents students with more than simply socializing and family. Many are also taking the long break as an opportunity to earn cash by working local jobs in their hometowns. "I'm working at a nursery school for two weeks in January," Hogan said.
While most students interviewed expressed a certain degree of happiness about the vacation, there is a shift in attitude toward its duration, which is far longer than a typical high school holiday. "Three and a half weeks is way too long," Santos said. "I wasn't sure how I'd feel going back to school, but it ended up being really nice to come back to Tufts last year."
As a result of Tufts' large international student population, many Jumbos have the opportunity (or necessity) to travel, stay in Boston or participate in atypical programs over the winter break.
Raoul Alwani, a 21-year-old Tufts freshman who grew up in Singapore, will only return home for the first five days of break. "After that, I'm going to India for a research project. It's optional, but it's definitely a good opportunity," he said.
Alwani was unable to go home during Thanksgiving, but instead spent the break with his roommate in Wellesley, Mass. And, like many freshmen seem to be discovering, homesickness doesn't present as great of a problem as anticipated: "This has become home already," Alwani said.
