I remember at a tender age, when it approached holiday time, we were always happy to go back home having spent about three months at school. Holiday time was definitely a reason to celebrate.However, as we screamed, shared our snacks and danced about on the eve of school break, some students were just not happy with the whole idea of the holidays. They frowned at the thought of it.Jennifer, a former classmate, always sat quietly, with teary eyes. This was so abnormal because she was sad yet evens the worst performers at that time, ignored the looming consequences of their failure and joined in the fun.Jennifer maintained her behavior for a whole year until we got to Senior two. She had become a close friend of mine and so I considered this as an opportunity to inquire about her sadness prior to every holiday.As we talked about what we did while at home, Jennifer said, "My step mother makes me do lots of housework, I wash clothes, cook, babysit, mop, wash utensils and do so much more. She actually sends away the housemaid when I go for holidays and on top of that she insults and beats me so much especially when my dad is away.” My questions had been answered; housework is not bad at all but when it crosses to the line and becomes child labour, then there is cause for alarm."That is the reason as to why I do not like to go home. She can never let me go to the village for my holidays,” Jennifer added.Tears just rolled down her cheeks as she told me more about her home. From all that she said, I had finally known why she was always unhappy about the holidays. It is certain that there are students who prefer staying at school because of different hardships they face while at home. Even though some reasons could be fake, others are genuine. It is therefore healthy for parents to sit and talk with their children on a personal level so that they can have a reason to smile when the holidays come around.