This past week most people traveled to see family, spend time with them and to share a Thanksgiving meal. Others chose to stay in town, and there a several reasons why that’s a perfectly good idea.
Some people choose not to travel for the holiday to save money. For students who live beyond Wyoming, Colorado and surrounding states a round-trip ticket home can cost upwards of $300. Driving is an alternative though it can be just as expensive, more time consuming depending on the destination and dangerous if road conditions are poor. As a student who lives on the west coast, I couldn’t justify the cost to fly home for a few days or the one-way, 18-hour drive.
Parents and family try to have the best intentions for students when the holiday season hits. To make trips worthwhile parents or family members might offer to pay for airfare or gas to see their students home for a little while.
This might sound like a familiar struggle for number of students who don’t live within a few hours’ drive of campus. When people think of holidays they usually envision time with family members or whomever they feel closest to. Family time should be valued but often after the first week or so being home, I feel ready to leave.
It’s not about physically being home but about the limited autonomy and expectations that are suddenly imposed. You may hear nagging about grades, your chosen field or any number of things you’ve shared with your family over the semester.
In exchange for the eventual aggravation that comes with family gatherings, I opted to stay in Laramie. Being close to family is important but spending quality time with friends can be just as rewarding. Instead of Thanksgiving people who didn’t go home celebrated Friendsgiving.
The idea of celebrating holidays with friends instead of family really touches on the fact that friends can seem like a family. Part of the college experience includes breaking out of your comfort zone and meeting people. These friends can make college more bearable. They make you laugh, help you when you need it and support you through ups and downs just like a family member would.
An old adage says the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, which people take to mean that the people you choose to be your “covenant” can be closer than family.
With winter break coming up and five weeks to relax most people have made plans already to spend some time at home, wherever that may be. Try to enjoy your time with family and remember that it’s ok to not want to spend all of that time away from friends.
