Word: homeness
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Thinking about our upcoming Thanksgiving holiday next week reminded me of something that I learned early in my first year at Harvard and that many of this year's first-years will probably soon realize: Once you've been at college for a few months, living back at home with the parents is more awkward and difficult than you ever would have imagined...
There are the new habits you've picked up at college that, although completely commonplace in a university setting, may seem a little strange when taken in the context of normal home life. Take sleeping patterns, for instance. In my mind, pulling an all-nighter to pack the night before leaving for break seems like a reasonable thing to do. Equally reasonable is the 17 hours of continuous recovery sleep I need during that first day back home. My mother, of course, sees this extended rest as a clear indication that I have mono and insists that...
...must admit, however, that there are certain amenities provided by my bathroom at home that are simply not available in a Winthrop House bathroom. For one thing, it's nice not to have to deal with a sink that hits the basin at such an angle that the water splashes back onto your clothing, making it look, every morning, like you just got a little too excited about your upcoming economics lecture. More importantly, the home presence of angelically soft toilet paper cannot be overappreciated. That's not to say I don't appreciate the College's two-ply version...
...Hell They Call It, students on break will have to resist the temptation to reach for a swipe card when wishing to open a door, take a Coke from the fridge or run a load of laundry. And there's no need to "term-bill" anything while at home; Mom's purse is only an arm's length away (too bad it's often accompanied...
Furthermore, it goes without saying that there is a whole vocabulary of vulgar words and phrases that are commonplace in college conversation but are less than appreciated in the daily interactions of home life. Terms like "response paper," "UC elections" and "Loker Commons" come to mind most immediately, but there are a host of others. Nor will your parents be particularly receptive to tales of college life involving wild nights of debauchery and hedonism. So tell your sister from Duke or Georgetown or whatever real colleges are out there to tone it down, or perhaps you can at least offer...