Thanksgiving break was a tease. Since late August, many students at University Park likely haven’t spent more than a few days—maybe a weekend or two—in their own homes. But for the most part, I didn’t mind. My first semester here at Penn State has been an amazing experience, full of meeting new people and adjusting to a new routine—new classes, new places, and, perhaps most importantly, a new way of living. And although Thanksgiving break was a welcome break, being home for a full week just seemed, well… weird. Not weird in a bad way, but different indeed. First of all, there was simply too much space that, after living in a comparatively minuscule dorm room for a few months, I didn’t know what to do with. Add to that a refrigerator stocked full of food (I don’t have to leave my building to go eat?) and my car in the driveway, and it was a completely different experience than college. I was surprised that it actually took me a little while to adjust to being home, but I think it might be a good thing; overall, I’m glad my college experience has been different from home.
But then I did adjust to my at-home lifestyle again. Seeing friends who go to other universities and family members whom I haven’t seen for months was great (as well as eating the homemade Italian food I’ve been craving). By the end of the week (which seemed to fly by) I was almost completely adjusted to living at home again, but alas, it was just a tease. After a week of no classes and maintaining a lengthy distance from any schoolwork, University Park students have to come back for another two (or three, depending on how many finals you have) weeks of school. And for me, these are/will be the busiest two weeks of the whole semester—projects, quizzes, and final exams are all looming, and it’s crunch time. Coming off of a weeklong break only amplifies the effect.
To top it all off, many other universities held their finals this week or are having them next week. However, these universities usually only have a few days for Thanksgiving break, compared to Penn State’s full week. It begs the question: is it better to have a shorter Thanksgiving break and end the semester earlier, or do students prefer having the longer Thanksgiving break and later finals? I’m not sure what my opinion is, but I have to admit that I’m a tad jealous of other schools that have 5- or 6-week winter breaks.
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