A College Kid’s Guide: How to Not Go Insane During Winter Break

YAY we are finally home! Back to the land of normal showers, home-cooked meals, regular toilet paper and our own beds! During the last 36 hour grid of our finals week, the hope of these things were pretty much the only thing keeping us going, but now that we have these luxuries…what do we do?

We’ve been going and going (whether partying or studying, or a combo of both), but now we have so much free time…

Here’s a few ways to avoid becoming Netflix blobs:

1. Get a job.

Hello! Having free time and being in need of money, isn’t it this simplest situation? Just apply anywhere, whether it’s at your local mall or the nearest corner store. Stores such as Hollister or American Eagle are most often looking for applicants to work, especially with the holiday season. Just be weary of them signing you up to work Christmas day–you still want to have a vacation!

2. Volunteer & Look for Perspective Opportunities

Remember in high school, when you had to volunteer just to graduate? Well take the time to find an organization you truly like and get involved. Volunteering looks good on resumes, (especially when you’ve become an official member of an organization) so start laying this framework to be an (official) active member of your community.

3. Get Back to Your Basics

This is after all, a break–a time to relax, so pick up old hobbies or begin new ones. Is there something you have been putting off, because you just had too little time before? Do it now. Whether it’s picking up an old instrument, or if you’re like me: working on your novel, take full advantage of this time to work on whatever it may be.

4. Plan a Small Party

You don’t have to invite the entire class that you graduated with (I can’t imagine anyone liked or knew every single person to do so), but have those few friends you still FaceTime with over for a small event. Make it a Christmas gift exchange or a simple sleepover! Remember that just because you have new friends in college, doesn’t mean you should forget those you grew-up with. After all, they are the ones who put up with you, as you went though your awkward stage!

5. Rejuvenate!

Maybe while studying you cut back on your exercise routine, or didn’t take care of your skin like you should have? Use this time to reevaluate your routine. Plan a new exercise schedule for the spring semester (and this time coordinate it with your other schedules, so you actually stick with it).

Relax, have fun, and Happy Holidays!

Thanks for reading.

By Veronica U-K.

Friends, Siblings, or Frenemies?

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the definition of the friend is: 1)A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. 2)A person whom one knows; an acquaintance. 3)A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade. 4)One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement.

Well, I agree with A.H.D, but something is still missing… what about those friends that you are constantly on the border with–the friends that make you wonder what their motives are and are constantly surprising you? Where do they fit in?

From the time I was little, I have always been taught that friends are only temporary people you meet, but your family is to be your core layer of support. I do not think this is true. Sure your family is great, but some things are just unable to be taken care of with your family. There is simply too big of a a gap in generations’ ideals for us to fully relate to either our parents or our siblings (unless of course you have a twin). Things that matter today did not matter to our parents, and irrelevant topics for us hold some sort of semblance to our parents. With regard to friends, we don’t have to explain anything. Most of the time, they were there when whatever cataclysmic disaster happened or at least know of the people involved. It’s just easier to talk to them. (Does this mean you should never go to your parents? No.)

Friends, to me, have always been people who after a long period of time I found I could trust and depend on, without having to worry about them using what I say or think fr their own personal gain. I have the same group of four people who I recognize as my siblings. To me, they are an extension of my family, because I know no matter what they will always be there for me. Not many people have this privilege to say that they have found such good friends. Now that I’m going to college, I’ll admit, I’m scared to let them go. All of these years, we have built our own little clique. We sit together. We study together. We go to concerts together. We have a routine and expectations in our circle. I always get the perfect score on an English essay and my other friend does ten points higher than me on the Calculus test.This is the expectation.

In college, none of that exists. It’ like the first day of freshman year, only everyone is smarter–and hopefully more mature. So how does one find friends in college that could potentially be additions to your “extended family” from high school? It’s simple–do stuff. Don’t be a hermit. Yes, college is the time that will define your career and the rest of your life, but don’t forget to have fun. I’m not saying go to every party and join every club–just don’t be afraid to take a chance. Most importantly, do things you actually like or are interested in.

DO NOT LET YOUR ROOMMATE OR PEOPLE ON YOUR FLOOR GET YOU TO DO STUFF YOU DON’T WANT TO. The friends that you make in college are supposed to be lifelong friends, and trust me, lying to get people to like you only causes you to lose more people. Friends should never be people you take pictures with to get a lot of likes on Instagram. Really, they should be versions of you, but maybe with more athletic or music ability.

So how does one figure all of this out? Easy. Just do three things: 1) Do not just become friends with the first people you meet. 2) Never always hang out with the same group of people your first week there. 3) Forget the whole stereotyping system you learned in high school; no one is who you think they are in college. No one grew up on the same street as you and went to the same middle school. They come from completely different places and backgrounds.

However, be weary of the notorious frenemy (i.e. the person you think is a friend, but really is just looking to stab you in the back). In college, everyone–or at least a good percentage of the population is ambitious. Ambition is a good thing, but having a willingness to do ANYTHING to get ahead is not okay. There will be people who are naturally competitive and do not fool yourself for assuming they are just being nice. How to spot them? Trust me, I’ve debated in enough Model United Nations conferences to know that you will know in your gut, when you meet one of these people.

What exactly does all of this mean?

Well, as you go through life you meet people. Everyone leaves a mark on your paper that makes up the chapters of your life, but is up to you to decide if you want to begin the sequel or reread the first.

*Image courtesy of Veronica U-K.

By Veronica U-K.