Finals week is wrapping up. This means that besides vocabulary words, projects with rapidly approaching due dates and never-ending essays, the only thing on everyone’s mind is Christmas break.

This is by far the most exciting and stressful time of the year. With so much going on, it’s easy to let everything become a stressor. Packing for home and all the tests and assignments that snuck up on you are on your mind, but there is also exchanging presents with friends and waiting in line to sell books back for Starbucks money to make it through long study sessions. The list goes on and on!

Christmas break is the longest break of the school year, and really the first big chunk of time spent back at home with family and friends. The adjustment of being back at home with rules can be hard, though. Coupled with the pressure that already comes attached to the holiday season, it’s hard not to have mixed feelings about going home. The trick is this: you have to go home excited for the trip down memory lane, the possibilities of rekindling high school friendships and being taken care of by Mom and Dad.

Melissa D’Angelo, a fifth-year senior studying sport and exercise science, said she remembers her first Christmas break at home. She said it was nice to be with family and tough to adjust – but totally worth it. Like many seniors, she isn’t taking this Christmas break for granted because it’s the last time she will get to enjoy so much time off and relax before she “has to be an adult.”

Whether it’s the idea of someone else washing your clothes (and the satisfaction of nothing getting ruined by your lack of laundry skills), eating food that doesn’t come from the cafeteria or sleeping in without the guilt of missing class, Christmas break really is the most wonderful time of the year.

How do you plan to spend your Christmas break? Comment below!