Winter break is one of those things that pretty much every college student is excited for and can’t wait until it comes. Everyone has amazing plans to catch up with friends back at home and to reconnect with family or even pets. Plus, it’s a time where most students can finally take a well-needed break from all the stress and work that college puts on a student.

However, after finishing my first semester in college and coming back from winter break, I found myself torn at the end of it. Yes, it was great to be back and all. I could be with the friends that I’ve forged great bonds with and I can get back to my education. Plus, break was starting to get slightly boring.

But there was a part of me that thought it was way too short. Just after New Year’s had come to a close, the rest of the month flew by like it was nothing. I wished that there was some way that it could be lengthened. On the other hand, it was originally longer, but with the college’s recent decision to push the start of the semester back a year, I’m starting to wonder if it is really effective. 

One of the disadvantages of having the fall semester pushed forward a week is that it gets dangerously close to the Christmas season. A lot of students may have to stay the entirety of finals week, and in this case, it ended two or three days before Christmas. That can cause some problems for people that may be trying to go home internationally or across the country. Flights at Christmas can be extremely packed and hard to schedule ahead of time until a student knows when their finals will be, which is not even four months out.

Another thing that bothers me about the pushed forward fall semester is that it tends not to match up with the starts and breaks of a majority of other colleges. For me, a lot of my friends were already starting college. Meanwhile, I had to wait a whole week before even starting my college journey. The same thing applies to the end of break. Seeing everyone out of college while I’m still trekking through finals week is hard. It makes you yearn for freedom instead of good grades on your final exams. 

Overall, I think it would benefit the college to re-adjust the beginning of each fall semester to what it originally was. This way, students will not have to worry about not being home in time for the holidays and can spend more time with their friends and family.