I feel as though I say this every time, but I have never looked forward to a break more than this upcoming spring break.
I have never been the kind of person to go on crazy trips for spring break.
This is mainly due to the financial aspect of taking big trips, but it is more so because I would much rather go home and spend the week relaxing.
I would rather not travel and end up coming back to school even more exhausted than I was when I left.
I prefer to go home and spend the majority of the time off relaxing or spending time with friends and family if I get the opportunity to do so.
Sometimes, however, that isn’t possible.
I am extremely lucky to not be working during all of my breaks this year.
Last year, I worked a full-time schedule over every break from Gannon and that was the year that almost drove me crazy.
This year, I decided it would be better for my academic performance, as well as my overall health, to not work during the dedicated breaks from school.
This does not always keep me from working in some capacity though.
I am definitely the kind of person who enjoys being busy.
I may not seem like it when I’m running around campus in order to keep up with all of my responsibilities, but I honestly prefer that to sitting at home doing nothing.
I like to feel productive. Feeling like I have accomplished something every day is a feeling I really love and strive for.
You can see where this ties into how I feel during breaks.
I absolutely love getting the time off, but approximately 12 hours into the first day off I already start to feel a little weird about not being fully immersed in work.
This will often lead to me searching for something to do in order to get ahead.
This may not seem like a bad thing to some people, and I guess in the grand scheme of things this is a really good pet peeve to have.
It is better to get things done early than to procrastinate all the way up until the last second.
I do have to say, though, it can really take a toll on my mental health.
Everyone needs a break at some point.
Humans aren’t made to just continuously work without any kind of relaxation or breaks.
I have been trying extremely hard to allow myself to understand and accept that this year.
This year, I have started to implement small self-care routines that I like to try to do at least once a week.
These routines can include doing some kind of art that I would otherwise not set the time aside to do, spend a little extra time with friends or even something as small as do a facemask.
These new habits have taught me that it is OK to take breaks.
I will still be able to get all of the work done, and with a clearer mind as well.
So hopefully during my last few breaks of my college career, I can actually allow myself to rest and rejuvenate before jumping back into school work.
This will be difficult for me, but I am hopeful that I will be able to make this change.
HARLEE BOEHM
