The time surrounding Christmas and Thanksgiving is always my favorite time of year; I love everything about it. This is my first Christmas living away from home, so this year I have an even bigger appreciation for being home for the holidays. There are a lot of things that I've taken for granted in the past, but after being home for only a week I have realized how thankful I am for the little things, like...

1. You finally get to eat a home cooked meal again, and you didn't realize how much you had missed real food.

2. You get to sleep in your own bed, which is somehow 10,000 times more comfortable than your bed in your dorm.

3. You realize how much you've missed your family. You've even missed how annoying they can get.

4. You get to see your hometown friends, and catch up on everybody's exciting college lives.

5. You feel the need to be doing something ever. single. second. that you're in town.

6. You have to endure all the "so how's college" questions, followed by "so have you met any boys," followed by "tell me about this sorority crap."

7. Even though they can be a pain, you realize how thankful you are for your family.

8. You feel weird being in your hometown, because you feel like you left for a few months and everything changed.

9. You get to spend time with your family and friends.

10. You've never been happier to take a random trip to sonic with your squad.

11. You remember that you didn't pack that one sweater because you never wear it, but now, when you're hours away from it, is the perfect time to wear the sweater.

12. You call your parents' home "home," but then you also call your college home "home" and it can get confusing at times.

13. You never realized how much you enjoyed walking into your parents' house and it smelling like a million candles.

14. Your mom makes you breakfast every morning.

15. You get to catch up on sleep.