With the holidays drawing near, college students are coming home. During these unprecedented times, colleges’ breaks are longer this year than in previous years; college students will be home for about two and a half to three months.

College students’ arrival home may cause distractions to their younger siblings who are still trying to get school work done.
Students find it harder to find a quiet space to study and work because their siblings seem to have more free time on their hands than high school students do. Siblings are not only a distraction during school, but they can also make it difficult to study for tests that students have coming up. “Between my brothers catching up with their college friends that they have not seen in months and screaming at sports games that are on, my house is always loud,” senior Eleni Jones said.

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Although siblings can be distracting, they can also be an additional entertainment source when students are bored. It is always fun to spend time with siblings on Wednesdays when students do not have school or late at night when we can not sleep. “My sister got to go Christmas tree shopping with us this year because she was home earlier than usual. It was fun to do since we have not been able to do it in many years. Also, having my sister home allows me to always have someone to hang out with, which is nice because hanging out with friends is hard since we have to be socially distant, and it is cold out,” senior Jenna Robinson said.

The high school schedule is stricter and more set in place than college schedules. High schoolers have a set window for classes, while college students can have days where they have no classes and days where they have class late at night. College students also have breaks for longer than high school students. “I really enjoy having my two brothers home from college because I am so close with them, but it can become very distracting when I have to focus in school because they are on break now and have so much free time,” Jones said.

Doing school work with siblings can also make students feel like circumstances are more normal. Having physical human interaction and sitting next to someone, even if it is a family member who is not working on the same subject, can make students feel better. “Sometimes sitting next to my siblings and doing work can help me be more productive with my work as opposed to sitting in my room with my phone as a distraction,” junior Angela Roach said.