It’s almost here! The glorious time of year where it is encouraged to eat as much homemade food as you wish and relax with family while your student gets nine long days away from campus and college life. Sure, it’s nice to have your student back home, but there might be some surprises that come with the long Thanksgiving break.
This is even more of a possibility if students haven’t been home a lot. Hopefully, they have found a place here at Missouri State and have grown to call it their second home. As their family, you should be happy about this for a number of reasons. First of all, when students feel connected to their college, it is more likely they are doing well academically. Also, homes are often found around people with whom you build relationships. If your student is calling Springfield their second home, they probably have a good group of friends and/or colleagues. Through making connections and getting settled here at Missouri State, it is very likely that your student made some changes in their life.
College is a time for freedom, and with that freedom students have the privilege to have control over parts of their life they may not have had before. These are simple things like:
- How late they stay up
- When they eat
- What they eat
- How they contact people
- When they go out
- How they get ready
- When they get up
- And many more!
All the items from the list above seem like minor decisions in life, but differences in these decisions could cause some discourse when your student comes home. Your student is in the process of growing into an independent adult, and you should embrace the responsibilities they have taken on with that. Do not be surprised if your student comes home and they don’t have the same routines as they did when they lived at home.
College life is interesting. From my experience, you tend to have the type of schedules no “real” adult would have. My best advice for you families would be to touch base with your student on the way they do things. This can be done in a casual way by asking questions about their routines when they are here in Springfield. Commonly, they carry over the habits to when they visit home. Don’t be afraid to voice your concerns with any of their routines. A conversation that leads to compromise is always the best course of action when working with your student.
Overall, Thanksgiving break is a great break for your student and is meant to bring all the Bear families together.
Enjoy your Turkey Day, Bears!
~Zoë