Tuesday marked the first day back for Brookdale students who didn’t take a winter semester. This was met with some mixed thoughts and opinions as students braved sub-freezing temperatures to come back to campus.
“Being back at school was really weird. It didn’t feel real until I was driving to the parking lot, and I was like ‘What the heck, I really have to go to class right now?’” said Nicholas Formaica, a 20-year-old Humanities major from Old Bridge. “Also, I don’t think I’ve ever come back to school and it was snowing everywhere, so that was weird.”
This same uneasy feeling was shared by Kyle Kim, a 19-year-old computer science major from Ocean Township. “I’m not excited, but it is my last semester here,” he said. “I’m excited about finishing my associates here and transferring somewhere.”
Being back at school led some students to reminisce about their winter break and its highlights.
“My favorite holiday tradition is my mom makes Pernil, which is Puerto Rican pulled pork. Then, we make coquito. It’s really good and yummy,” said Formaica.
Formaica added another detail about his holiday break. “I think my favorite thing I did was redecorate my basement. It was a lot of fun. I got to play Youtuber and go to Target, spend money and not care.”
Some individuals, like Kim, spent the weeks off in a more relaxed way, by “taking a break, relaxing from all the school work.”