Home is where the heart is.

Being away from home for quite some time really makes coming home feel that much sweeter. It reminds me of the saying "distance makes the heart grow fonder", or something along the lines of that. Although I was just home for Thanksgiving not too long ago, the mini-break honestly felt so short that after being home for a few days, the next thing I knew, I was driving back to school again. (Read the brief post I did during my Thanksgiving break here!)

Now during the eleven days before I came home for winter break, which was the week after the Thanksgiving holiday, everything felt like it was moving inexplicably fast. There was only a week left of classes, which meant finals were right around the corner. Being the usual silly me, I thought I had some time to spare so I caught up on a few shows and lazily scrolled through social networks. Obviously, that was a poor decision. I ended up frantically getting all my assignments and papers turned in while preparing for finals week. It was madness. 

Having to juggle class assignments for the final week of instruction and the stress of studying for my exams, I was completely overwhelmed. You should've seen my desk - the mess it was in pretty much summed up how I felt. On top of that, I was also figuring out a few plans for winter break and doing online Christmas shopping for my family and friends. Distractions are always so appealing, and yet dangerous at times like these.

After surviving the crazy week, eleven days to be exact, coming home felt like drinking a nice hot cup of peppermint mocha with roasted marshmallows on a winter night. Looking back to that week, I think that it's good to be busy and preoccupy myself with things. When I feel like there is not enough time in the day to do everything I want to do, it makes me really appreciate the time I actually have. Also, time literally flies by for me when I'm on the move and when I immerse myself in tasks. 

For now, I'm going to bring out all the Christmas decorations and enjoy spending the holiday season at home. What can I say, it's the little things that warm my heart.