12/05/2014
Andrew Metri
Staff Writer
A.E.Metri@iup.edu

The Home for the Holidays Workshop, held Wednesday at the Counseling Center to aid students as they prepare to venture home for the holidays, was organized by the director of the psychology department, Jessica Miller, as well as Gabriela Huffman (graduate, psychology).

The workshop was a resource for students who may not necessarily be looking forward to going home over break and have to face the inevitable reality that life at school is very different from life at home.

Parents will always be parents, and no matter how old we get or where we are in life, some parents will always be invested in their children’s lives. As some are dreading going home for the holidays because of things like reinforced curfews from their parents, this workshop gave students a new outlook on how to handle breaks.

Some of the concerns expressed by students at the workshop included being under very strict rules and being limited to what we can do for the five weeks of being away from campus, which is a completely different lifestyle after almost four months of virtually total independence.

“The workshop was designed to help people prepare better for breaks and to help take some of the stress of going back home a little easier,” Huffman said. “We are trying to reduce some of the stress that students experience when they go home and find ways for students to communicate a little more about what it is specifically that they aren’t looking forward to when going back home.”

The workshop prepared students for upcoming events that could occur while home over the holidays and also gave students proper plans to deal with these issues.