Home Away From Home: Wishing Finals Week Was Over

As much as I love being on my own here at UCSD, I do tend to miss my family quite a bit. As much as I love the people here who have become my family away from my family, my mom, my brother, and I are very close and, at times, it's really hard without them being near. My hometown is about a 12 hour drive from campus and that does not really allow for a quick weekend trip home or even for the four short days of Thanksgiving (sorry excuse for a) break.

So, instead of skipping classes on Wednesday to try and get in a travel day to go home and see the family, I surprised my brother and flew him down for Thanksgiving. It was so much epicness to be able to spend so much time with him since he has the full week off. He was here from the Saturday night before Thanksgiving week to the Monday afterwards.

It was a lot of fun! We went paintballing, started a pick-up dodgeball game in the iHouse basketball court (if you're ever down, let me know!), had a big Thanksgiving dinner with all of my friends here, played a large game of 7-11, raided Ralph's to create our very own Thanksgiving dinner, watched Netflix like no other, dragged mattresses out to the living room so we could wake-up early and watch the Thanksgiving parade in bed, saw Harry Potter, andpretty much just had a blast!

Now, I know that we're all about to go home in a week (unless you're an International student, but all of them seem to be going on trips around the country), but I thought I would give you a tip on how to feel like you're home, even when you're in the middle of Finals *cough* DEATH *cough* week or at any time of the year when you just wish you were home.

Decorate your room--- Seriously, your personal touch will make the world of difference. Whether you have a single or a cramped three to a room (hello, freshman year), bring things from home. Bring pictures, bring posters, bring your favorite blankets. Bring your stereo, bring your nick-nacks. Cover your walls, your closets, the surface of your desks, not the ceiling (only with blue painter's tape, of course!--which you can definitely get at stores around campus like M.O.M. in Muir). If you have an apartment, decorate the living room. Get together with your flatmates and take a trip to Target (41 bus on weekdays, 101 to UTC to 41 bus on weekends) and find some things you all like. I fill my mom's mini-van for our trek across the great Golden State with things that are simply used to make my room seem less of a "This is my bear white-walled dorm room, a continuation of the school" and more like a "Haven away from the stressful area surrounding me that's ALL MINE."

BONUS TIP, AWH YEAH: Comfort food. Yes, I know about the freshman fifteen, but a little comfort food to bring you back home is always a good thing. Go to Ralph's, or Vons, or any of the stores we have spread across campus (good way to use up those extra dining dollars!) and get cookin' in the kitchen. Cooking may seem scary (it was to me!), but just mess around until you get something you love. I've created two of my own recipes that I'll gladly share with you one of these days. If you have an apartment this works best because you can make your own at home, but if not, indulge yourself when you find something AWESOME at a dining hall. The taste of your cooking-parental-unit is only a short walk away.