Thanksgiving BreakThanksgiving break is next week. That means food comas, watching football and time spent with family. If you’re a college student, it also means a break from college for at least a little while.

Being home from college can be a blessing, it gives you the chance to rest, relax and recharge. You might find, however, that the time you spend at home can get a little tedious and boring, and that you’re itching to get back to college. You miss you your college friends and all of the exciting things going on.

In order to make the most out of your Thanksgiving Break, and help pass the time while you’re at home, we’ve compiled a list of three things you can do to help stave off the boredom of being at home.

1. Reconnect: Being away from college gives you the opportunity to reconnect with family and friends that you don’t get to see during the year. Take the time to really appreciate the people you’re around because you only get to see them when you’re home. Instead of staying on your phone and texting your friends during Thanksgiving dinner, try engaging with your older family members: ask them what they’ve been up to since you last talked. Relationships with family are often taken for granted; make sure you aren’t making that mistake.

Reconnecting with old friends is also important. Moving to college provides you an opportunity to make brand new friends and have brand new experiences and you might find that you let a lot of your old high school friends fall by the wayside. Try reaching out to your old friends; don’t focus on how you aren’t as close as you used to be, talk about your new positive college experiences and how you have changed for the better since high school. The relationships you maintain will be positive in the long run.

2. Become more professional: Just because you’re home from college doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to help improve your professional future. While your home from college you should pull out your resume and make sure it is up to date. Have you started a new job on campus? You should add it. Have you had any professional certifications? You should add them. Do you have any internship experience? You can add that as well. It may seem boring, but you’ll thank yourself later when you have an up to date resume to show to recruiters.

Along with your paper resume, you should create/update your LinkedIn profile. Once an enigma, LinkedIn is becoming increasingly important in the professional world. LinkedIn is your digital resume: add work experience, skills, and other important things to show off yourself.

These steps are incredibly important for your future.

3. Volunteer: More volunteers are needed during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons then at any other time. During the holiday season most people spend time with family and friends, but some people aren’t as lucky. It’s important to give back during the holiday season: reflect on the goodness you have been dealt in your life and the hardships that other people face. You can find volunteer opportunities here or here.

We hope you find these tips helpful to making the most out of your Thanksgiving break. From all of us at National Student Services, Inc. we wish you and yours’ a very happy Thanksgiving and the best of luck in your next semester!