12 Days of Christmas: What happened to all the students?
It’s the first Sunday of Christmas Break, and all through the churches not a creature is stirring, not even a little church mouse.
The dorms are all empty, the students have all gone home, and the only ones left are those trying to roll in the dough.
Ask any student, and they will surely tell you that campus is a dead zone during holiday breaks, and YSA’s all over the valley are shrinking. For the few of us who know, holiday breaks in a college town can either be depressing or refreshing. From now until school starts, college kids everywhere are soaking up whatever freedom they can before returning to the rush of college life.
Young Single Adult wards in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be full of strangers gathering and intermingling with different people. Wards will combine because of loss of attendance, as students leave for the holidays.
“YSA wards are like ghost towns over holiday breaks,” said Carrington Clark, a Social Studies Composite Teaching Major. “Those who do not go home to visit family and friends are few in number, and assemble in humble gatherings just as they would on a typical Sunday. Fortunately, young single adults still manage to have an upbeat spirit.”
What seems like an infinity of time, winter break is really only three weeks long, and life for the hard-working money-makers will eventually return to normal. YSA’s will gain numbers once again as students trickle back to their abodes for studying, time with roommates and the occasional work day.
Stephanie Reid, Aggie alumn states,”I remember being super lonely for three weeks. I had just moved to Logan and couldn’t really meet people because the wards were combined. I didn’t know who to talk to, or if I was even going to the right ward.”
Students who may be seeking for peace during this holiday season find that YSA’s with less people are comforting and refreshing. It’s a chance to intermingle with people you wouldn’t normally associate with. Even though it is hard to be away from family and friends in a season and time of year that is all about family, YSA’s make it a comforting experience for those who haven’t been away from family during the holidays before.
The dismal snowy valley may have students dreaming of plans for Spring Break, but for now, they will soak up as much family and friend time as they can, attempting to harness the Christmas Spirit as much as possible, and indulge in as much hot chocolate as they are physically capable of before returning to the grind of college madness.
Merry Christmas Aggies! May your Christmas be merry and bright.
-kortni.marie.wells@aggiemail.usu.edu
@kortniwells