Being from California, I don’t get to go home much. The Pacific Ocean and I get to spend time together during Christmas break, a couple weeks in the summer, and that’s about it. Since I don’t have any family in Texas, my friends at Baylor have become my surrogate family for long weekends and holidays.

My older sister Katrin and I have been fortunate enough to be able to drive up to Kansas every year to spend Thanksgiving with our Aunt Marie and Uncle Alan. Even though we always have plans, I have received offers every year from sweet friends willing to bring me home with them since I can’t go back to Saratoga. The same applies for Easter weekend. Since we get Good Friday and the Monday after Easter off from our great Baptist school, lots of students head home to spend that precious holiday with their families and their home churches. I have gone home with my boyfriend David for the past two Easters, but I truly appreciate the offers I get from all my friends to share in their family traditions.

There is nothing quite like mommy-cooked food, a warm bed in a real home, and relaxing with parents (even if they aren’t yours). Baylor is a tight-knit community, and that is exemplified in my friends including me in their family traditions and experiences during Fall Break, Easter, and Thanksgiving. Even if you are out of state and homesick (like me), you are never far from a family that loves you. That’s what friends are for.