University of Iowa students are feeling homesick as the year winds to a close, having freshly returned from fall break at home with a glimpse of the upcoming holiday season.
First-year UI student Gabriela Pawlus reminisced on her time at home and familial traditions that bring comfort.
“During the holidays, you think about spending them with your family, so I’m definitely homesick,” she said. “I miss our traditions. One of them is Mikolajki, which is translated from Polish to English as ‘little Santa.’ It’s at the beginning of December — a precursor to Christmas.”
Before coming to campus, many first-year students are accustomed to coming home to their traditions and the warmth of their homes. That is now replaced by classes, studying, and finals in Iowa City.
“My family always goes all out,” Pawlus said. “I always get a real tree, and we keep ornaments that have been passed down throughout our family members in Poland.”
While some of these traditions cannot be preserved, they can be recreated. She and her roommate brought a sliver of the holiday spirit to their dorm in Mayflower Residence Hall with a small Christmas tree adorned with festive lights.
“I just wanted to bring a little bit of home,” she said. “It’s not much, but it’s a small thing I can do to adjust.”
Other students in Mayflower are also making creative use of the space they are afforded. First-year students Emily Knowles and Ava Mandle have honored the holiday spirit by utilizing their limited door room space.
“We decorated our door, put up a Christmas tree, and got window clings,” Knowles said. “We also have our personal stockings.”
Their room emanated a youthful, childlike wonder, aided by the dim glow of string lights trailing the ceiling. Mandle found the dorm room to be more inviting after the introduction of these themed trinkets and embellishments.
“It’s not cozy in the family sense. Instead, I’m surrounded by friends who I’m growing closer to through our time here,” she said. “I feel a lot more independent to decorate however I want.”
A few miles over at Stanley Residence Hall, pre-law student Izzy Lowe shares the joy of the holidays with her two other roommates.
“For our mini tree, I bought mini ornaments,” she said. “I also got stockings for me and my two roommates. It’s just a good reminder of what the Christmas season is all about.”
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Many UI students are from out-of-state, so this season can feel especially lonely.
Pawlus and her roommate Mariah Plis are both from the suburbs of Chicago. In their short time here, they’ve observed stark differences in how the downtown area of Chicago and Iowa City prepare for the holidays.
“Chicago goes all out for everything,” Plis said. “It’s a hot spot for Christmas. Everything is decorated when you walk down Michigan Avenue.”
“I wish that we had more lights around Iowa City,” Pawlus added. “People celebrate different holidays in this season, but lights can be enjoyed by everyone. In Chicago, so many people will just wrap lights around their cars and drive around to add to the city’s festiveness.”
For many, the importance of family becomes more evident during the holidays. Knowles is from Colorado, an 11-hour drive or a two-hour flight, and said she tries to emulate the holiday spirit of her home in Iowa City.
“I feel more Christmas spirit at home than I do here. When I come to my room, I feel it because of our decorations, but walking around downtown Iowa City, I don’t feel it at all,” Knowles said.