Thanksgiving Break is quickly approaching, and that means many of us will be fleeing campus and heading back to our hometowns. Even though we all love our independent college lives, it's nice to go home and escape the stress of school for a couple of days. Thanksgiving Break is the ideal break because it's long enough to relax a bit, but not so long that we find ourselves counting the days until it's over. Let's take a look at some of the things we look forward to most during this time of year.

1. Receiving a warm welcome upon arrival makes you feel special.

Walking through the door of my childhood home after a long time away at school makes me feel like a queen returning to her kingdom. Everyone is so excited to see you and hear about your awesome college life. Even though you may not be willing to take such questions at this time, it's nice to know how much you have been missed.

2. You are reunited with your beloved pet.

For some people, this means a furry friend jumping up to greet you and wagging his tail. For me, it means my goldfish quickly swimming back and forth in his tank, happy to see me. Either way, it's a heartwarming moment.

3. You can fill up on everything you crave and miss while away at school.

Personally, I will be heading straight to Dunkin' Donuts when I get home because West Lafayette mysteriously lacks one. I am also anxiously awaiting a tasty Chicago-style pizza, as Papa John's misses the mark a bit. Everyone has their go-to place they need to visit when back home.

4. Hogging the couch is oddly satisfying.

There's just something about that tried-and-true family room couch that makes it better than any other piece of furniture. Nobody will question you if you spend literally all day there, and they wouldn't dare ask you to move because you "just work so hard" at school. You deserve this.

5. You can binge-watch holiday movies.

Going along with the couch-hogging, Thanksgiving break is the perfect chance to look ahead to the holiday season. Take this opportunity to get in the spirit before you go back to school and hate everything again.

6. People do your laundry for you.

When you go home, you can probably convince someone else to do the laundry you're too lazy to do, or to get "help" washing that one shirt that has been in your hamper since September because the tag says it needs to be hand washed.

7. You get caught up on all of the family gossip.

What's the latest scandal? Who's mad at who? You don't get to eavesdrop on your parents' phone conversations while you're away at school, so you miss out on these things. When you're home, you can persuade them to fill you in.

8. Home-cooked meals taste even better than cheesy bread (maybe).

As much as I enjoy eating half of a can of Pringles and calling it dinner, a hearty, home-cooked meal is certainly something to look forward to. Thanksgiving dinner is the dinner of all dinners, so this adds another level of excitement.

9. You can steal things from home and bring them back to school with you.

This works with food, toiletries, office supplies, or really anything you can find in your house that you don't actually want to pay for yourself. Do a little shopping in your own home and stock up on the essentials so you're all set to head back to school.

10. Black Friday shopping is equally disturbing and thrilling.

Gather up the squad and hit the stores at ridiculous hours to score the best deals. Your friends and family will totally love you for the 10-for-$2 socks you get them for Christmas.

11. You can consider Thanksgiving Break a chance to deny all responsibilities.

Even though we still have a few weeks until the semester is over, Thanksgiving Break fools us into thinking we're done for a couple of days. It's easy to ignore any work you should be doing in preparation for finals.

12. And of course, you get to spend time with family and friends from home.

Kim says it all right here.