Christmas Boredom
by Ted Slater on 12/26/2007 at 8:06 PM
It was Christmas break and the campus was closing down, so I went back home for a few weeks. As the days passed, I grew restless and bored. I missed spending time with friends between classes. I missed the mental stimulation. I found myself increasingly eager to leave the emptiness of small town Upper Michigan and return to the normality of college life.
It's been over a decade since that particular Christmas break, but the memories of that time are still there. I imagine many of our readers are finding themselves in the same place: restlessness, boredom, loneliness. Maybe there's some family conflict, maybe the gifts you received for Christmas were lame, maybe things have changed too much (or too little) from the last time you visited home.
Let me encourage you to spend a few minutes reading "Making it a Merry Christmas," an article we published a few days ago on Boundless, something Suzanne had written a couple of years ago. I'm confident it'll help you make the best of your time back home.
Does this article resonate with you? Are you anxious to get back to college, with its routine and friendships?
1. Adam D said the following at 8:50 PM on Dec 26:
yea this article resonates with me. except my time of restlessness, boredom, and loneliness has been going on for years, rather than just a break. I am happy that tomorrow I get to see one of my friends, first time i'll be able to hang out with one of my friends in years, hope I still remember how to socialize...
2. Anna said the following at 9:30 PM on Dec 26:
Loneliness is such a struggle. Adam, I know how you feel. Even though I have been blessed with quite a few friends over recent years, through high school it was a huge issue. I was lonely for most of those four years. And in the first couple years of college, it was very difficult for me to find friends who I really clicked with - kindred spirits, so to speak. :)
Choosing joy in any situation is best... I like what Suzanne says.
3. sandra said the following at 10:44 PM on Dec 26:
I just graduated (may 2007), and my life has been like an endless christmas break: boredom, loneliness, friendlessness. just sayin'...
4. Sad Sally said the following at 11:12 PM on Dec 26:
The twenties are truely "the lonely years." All of us lonely people should find each other and hang out! May God bless us all with spouses, and give us his comfort when we deal with that dull ache of loneliness.
5. dana111 said the following at 11:20 PM on Dec 26:
I am actually having the opposite feelings this Christmas Break. I miss all of my family and friends at home, so being here is great. College life is fine, but for me, it doesn't beat being home with the people I love. It has been hard for me at school because I really haven't met anyone that I can rely on for emotional support... I am not really looking forward to going back :(
6. BDB said the following at 11:45 PM on Dec 26:
My Christmas one-week breaks tend to be a whirlwind tour of people I haven't seen in a year or more. I just spent 3 hours with the parents of one of my friends from kindergarten-to high school. They've got a new grandchild that hasn't been able to come home from the hospital since he was born a couple of months ago. But I've tried to keep up with the family over the years. Sometimes that meant the deliberate decision to seek them out - calling my friend in the middle of the night my time when he was stationed in Germany, for example. I definitely don't regret trying to make that extra effort 20 years ago. But I've also become more sensitive to the people doing that with me, like the person who called me from work on Christmas Eve since she was stuck working pretty much alone. And another co-worker e-mailing me from work today because she was stuck working alone. Not everyone is interested in staying in contact over time and distance, so I try to focus my energy on those that do.
7. Justin said the following at 1:16 AM on Dec 27:
Yeah, it definitely resonates. As college goes on, I'm increasingly becoming aware that going "home" for Christmas really isn't going home anymore. I'm not ready to call college home, but my parents' house doesn't feel like home anymore either. It's a bit sad.
8. Louise said the following at 5:53 AM on Dec 27:
Youngsters, enjoy your winter break while you can!
I haven't had one in over twenty years.
In 1990 we went to FL for the holidays, then was greeted by a virtual avalanche of work upon my Jan. return to the "day spa."
I've worked every Christmas/New Years week since then!
9. Loris said the following at 8:18 AM on Dec 27:
I have mixed feelings about this Christmas. On the one hand, I was thankful that I could stay home this year and that my parents were willing to visit me and my husband in our new town. Since both my parents and in-laws are a ten hour drive away, this was quite a boon. On the other hand, I was quickly worn out trying to entertain my parents (they are very high-maintenance since my dad's disabled) and I felt pretty guilty on their last day here when I really just wanted them to leave so I could spend time with my husband. Not to mention, take a nap. Now I'm back at work and it feels like a break. Is this what I have in store for the next years?
10. Kellie said the following at 9:07 AM on Dec 27:
I've been out of college for a few years, but this was my first Christmas working the actual holiday. We spent time with family over the weekend, but I was a little sad to miss the big family celebrations.
11. Stephen Altrogge said the following at 10:05 AM on Dec 27:
Sad Sally said that the twenties truly are the lonely years. I'm sorry to hear this. I'm in my mid twenties and very rarely if ever have I felt lonely. I attribute this primarily to my involvement in my local church. God has intended us to make connections with other saints within the context of a church. These connections don't have to be with people of our own age either. God intends us to be involved in a community of Christians.
Loneliness can definitely be a struggle. One remedy provided by God is the local church. Get involved!
12. Andrew R. (aka Canadian Boy) said the following at 10:16 AM on Dec 27:
Yep, I miss university right now. Bored perfectly describes me these days. Can't wait to get back.
13. Esther said the following at 10:47 AM on Dec 27:
As a single adult living and working a couple hours from where my folks live, this year was a new challenge. I went home to be with my family for Christmas, which meant that I missed some of the festivities at the church I am now part of. Sure, there was a Christmas eve service at the church where I grew up, but I would have preferred going to the one where I now attend. Of course, not being a student means that I didn't get any more time off than Christmas Eve and Christmas, and had to leave my family Christmas afternoon to drive back. But now that I'm back here, I can spend some time with my friends here. So I guess it has worked out pretty well after all. But for all you students-- don't take the week or two (or more) of Christmas break for granted, it isn't reality for most working adults.
14. Nicole said the following at 8:30 AM on Dec 28:
Try to cherish these times. When you are a working adult, work doesn't care if you have family or friends waiting for you at home. You are lucky if you get off more than two days for a "Christmas break". Bored? I am not familiar with that word, two weeks of freedom without work (or school) sounds pretty blissful to me!
I guess if I try to remember back to my christmas breaks home from college, I was always too busy to be bored, between squeezing in some work so I could earn money and visiting friends, there was no room for boredom.
15. Char said the following at 4:37 PM on Dec 29:
The holidays are always hard at my house because my family forgets that I'm a grown woman and not the bratty child I was 15 years ago. They sometimes still treat me like a child unable to make my own decisions.
It is especially hard this year because my family is growing with my new nephew expected in a few months. Two of my friends have recently wed, and another one has a child on the way.
I work a fulfilling job as a teacher and love my work and my students, but I really want to be a wife and mother. I don't begrudge my friends their happiness, but the holidays, Christmas and Thanksgiving specifically, bring to light what I don't have yet.
It's just hard.