TEEN CENTER :: COLLEGE CENTER :: FRESHMAN JOURNAL

December 2002

The First Trip Home

By Caitlin Noris
Special to The Wall Street Journal

This year, Thanksgiving break took on a whole new meaning. Not only was it a break from trudging to class every morning in the freezing rain and eating mushy cafeteria food, but going home to Florida also meant I would see my parents for the first time in months.  Leaving Pittsburgh was bittersweet; I am so used to being around my friends all the time. All of us had a place to go to for vacation, and we were all certainly looking forward to a week without classes. Feeling smugly responsible, I packed my textbooks to study for finals, which were beginning in two weeks, and said goodbye to my friends.

I stepped off the airplane in Orlando, Florida to visit my dad for the first half of break. When I left Pittsburgh, it was 30 degrees and raining; however, Orlando was warm, breezy, and I could even wear flip flops. The change was ridiculously uplifting. It was great to cook a huge dinner and visit with my family. The leftovers tasted gourmet next to what I have grown accustomed to eating. I did find my room to be a bit lonely, since I am so used to lying in the dark and talking across the room to my roommate.

On Thanksgiving Day, I traveled to Miami to visit my mom. I had two more Thanksgiving dinners—one with my boyfriend’s family and another with my mom and our family friends. Again, I ate to my heart’s content, constantly exclaiming things like: “Wow! I forgot what fresh bread tastes like!” or “The refrigerator looks so big!” During the few moments of downtime, I caught up with my mom, played with my dogs, and visited some friends. It is so strange to visit high school friends and see that everyone has changed in some way. Even still, it was great to catch up with them, hear their wild stories about college, and feel a little nostalgic about my senior year.

Although I was really enjoying being with my family, by Sunday I was ready to return to Pittsburgh. It is funny how accustomed one becomes to "college life." I missed my friends from school and wanted to see how their vacations had been. I missed my little dorm room and the parties we go to. I missed the snow, the gorgeous architecture that graces my campus, and the 7-Eleven that sells the good coffee.

So I returned to Pittsburgh feeling bittersweet, just like I had felt when I left, because I had had a great vacation and would truly miss my home. I arrived back at my dorm and was greeted by my friends, with their own wild stories to tell of the past week.  It was only when I lay in bed that night that I realized I had not cracked a book the whole time! But how could I be mad at myself? I had spent my break with my family, and that’s what Thanksgiving is all about.

Caitlin Noris, originally from Miami, Fla., is a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh. Her Freshman Journal will be updated periodically on the Classroom Edition Web site.