We are officially in the heart of winter break. Some of us have only been home for a few days, while other have already been home for weeks, which means you may or may not be beginning to get over the initial excitement of being home. Now, this is a wonderful (the most) time of the year with all of the holidays and general festive spirit, but there are also some perks of just coming home alone even aside from the holidays and this is a perfect time to remind yourself of them. As much as you miss your college friends when you are at home and can't see them for a few weeks, you still love coming home after a long semester - and these are just a few of the reasons why.

1. Eating Home-Cooked Food

If you say you're not tired of dining hall food, there is a 99.73% chance you're lying. There is nothing better than a good home cooked meal after a semester of struggling through the college dining hall/Ramen diet. It's even worse if you have dietary restrictions - I eat halal meat only, which means I'm basically vegetarian outside of the house, and I am also not supposed to eat that much cheese, so that tends to leave me with salad as my (only) go-to option. My mom is an amazing cook, so I always miss her food when I'm off in college struggling through eating a salad almost every meal.

2. The Way Your Dog (Or Cat Or Fish Or Frog) Greets You

If you're still down from finals or anything else, the second your dog attacks you when you walk through the door it will all go away. My puppy literally runs around circles barking and sniffing my bags and then sits with me and licks my arm or leg for a solid half hour before he's satisfied. Dogs truly are something else, and they never fail to make you feel better - science shows it through the chemical that is released when you pet an animal like a dog or even make eye contact! There is nothing like a dog that misses you and is excited you are home.

3. Spending Time With Your Family

I don't want to assume anyone's familial background, but as much as you and your family may or may not fight, at the end of the day if you love each other then you are privileged. For many people, college is the first time that they are living away from home for such a long period of time, so that can be quite a change, especially if you get homesick sometimes. In fact, you probably even miss the silly fighting with your parents and siblings. I don't really ever get home sick personally, but it is still always nice to come home and see everyone (that is, until the usual family antics start up again!).

4. College Gives You Proper Time Off

At least in my school district, winter break was a measly dozen days at best, literally from Christmas Eve until the day after New Year's. Contrarily, most colleges give you much more time off. I have finals until the 23rd this semester unfortunately, but many of my friends will have been home for a week by then, and many will be home at least through solid mid-January. A friend and I were talking just the other day about how great it is that we get an actual break in college, because we so need it. That said...

5. You Get To Actually Take A Break

You can watch Netflix without any guilt, you can sleep an actual human amount instead of pulling wild all-nighters, you could get to be a little pampered by parents who have missed you all semester, you get a well-deserved break to refresh from a long semester of studying, stress, questionable food, minimal sleep, and just take care of yourself for almost entire month - until you have to start all over again, that is. Until then, though, enjoy your break while you have it! Now go watch some Home Alone with your family.