What to do when you miss Chapel Hill

Christmas is over and the away-from-college blues are officially setting in. If you’re missing Chapel Hill more than d00k fans miss when Juicy Couture tracksuits were a thing, we have the guide for you.

If it’s your first winter break, the thing every freshman misses while they’re at home is their 10 x 10 dorm room and the great food at Lenoir/The Agora. Don’t worry little ones – we have tons of ideas to help you replicate the luxurious dorm lifestyle.

First, be sure to wear flip flops every time you shower. The second that thin piece of plastic slides on your foot, you’ll be reminded of cold 8am showers and avoiding Suzy’s ball of hair on the wall. Another tip for the genuine dorm feel? Ask your older brother/sister to get it on with their fiancée in your room rather than the room down the hall – ah, the flashbacks.

@granvilletowers

It’s even easier to replicate the dining halls from the comfort of your home. Eat only microwavable dinners for about six days and it will feel like you never left. For additional feels, ask your mom if you can host the neighborhood kids for a pizza luncheon. It will feel just like when the Raleigh-area Middle School heathens visit campus and take all the booths in Rams. You can try to replicate the dining hall cookies with the dough from the store, but I promise it’s harder than it looks.

@cds_unc

Even with these tips, you’re sure to be bored at home. There are a bunch of ways you can make your first winter break go by faster.

First, dump your high school boyfriend. You can spend the rest of break hunting down hometown hookups and crying. Next, throw a party or two. If you want to replicate a freshman frat party, you can buy a 12-pack of Straw-Ber-Itas from the shady gas station down the street and get wasted in your parents’ basement while Becky and John fuck on your parents’ couch.

If you’ve been through a winter break or two, you probably miss the social life at Chapel Hill the most. I mean, you love drinking saké with your mom and singing karaoke, but the suburban bars get old fast.

Quick tip to replicate the social buzz in Chapel Hill? First, buy blue solo cups and drink every beverage you consume out of them…even hot chocolate. Not the same as He’s Not, but almost. Another quick tip? Listen to shit tons of Chase Rice and the song “Jordan Belfort” on repeat in the car and in the shower. It will be like you never left the Chapel Hill bars.

@hesnotherenc

Say you want to go to a real bar in the suburbs. It’s always fun to watch a UNC basketball game in full Carolina gear at your local sports bar, completely blitz, and even better, in front of a bunch of old people. It’ll be just like you’re pre-gaming a real game. You can also buy a keg and host the local high school cuties for a game viewing – most of them will be college freshmen soon anyway.

Maybe you miss the beautiful Carolina campus? Lucky for you, the UNC Admissions Ambassadors have an entire YouTube channel full of tours of campus and personal testimonials about Carolina. Forget Netflix, this is five-star viewing.

You can also visit the Carolina libraries website if you really miss curling up in Davis with your homework – maybe find a scholarly article or two to read before the break is over. To really feel like you’re back at school, you can wear your Norts outside, even in the snow. Carolinians don’t get cold.

@uncchapelhill

If all else fails and you are still in a pit of despair after being away from darling Carolina for so long, you can always start a journal on why you’re glad you don’t go to Duke.

But that list may become a novel, and you probably don’t have time to write a novel before next semester starts.