School is out! Forever! No, maybe not, unfortunately not, but you do have some breathing room. It was a long road, especially if it was your freshman year. Finals are finally over, and with them so are your days of sleeping just a couple hours to wake up early and go to school. No more deadlines, much less stress, and fewer early mornings. Not all of us are fortunate enough to not have to work during winter break, but even if you still have to work, there are no more assignment deadlines looming over your head and no more homework every single night. During that breaking, whether it be two weeks or a whole month, here are some things that you should definitely do.
1. Pamper Yourself.
Most of us let ourselves slide a little during school. We might not keep up with our nails, or get our hair done or really have a lot of time to think about ourselves. Or maybe you do, and I am so impressed with you for being able to keep up with that many things. This one is more for girls than for guys, but really, anyone. Take care of yourself over winter break. Get some nice lotion, moisturize your hands and feet, deep condition your hair, touch up your roots. Spend a day taking a nice long bath and then getting a manicure. When you've got less to do, why not devote some time to yourself? You made it through the semester, you deserve it.
2. Binge-watch that tv show.
If you're like most of us, you did this during the semester anyway. Oh, well, so did the best of us. So maybe you turned in that paper late or missed a couple hours of sleep because you were binging on Grey's Anatomy or Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. We all do it sometimes, and it always feels guilty because you're so far behind and you just don't stop Netflix when it starts loading up that next episode. The best part about Christmas break is that you don't have to feel guilty. You can just lay there all day and watch tv and have no guilt because there is nothing hanging over your head. Go for it.
3. Don't set an alarm.
Some of us have to work, but not every day. Don't set an alarm, see how long you'll sleep. I bet you'll sleep more than 3-6, which is normal if you're in college. Even if it's just once. Don't set an alarm and just let yourself sleep. You'll feel great afterwards, even if you're a little guilty for sleeping 12 hours. It's okay. A whole semester of sleep deprivation can do that to you. So settle in with a mound of blankets and pillows and just go with it.
4. Cook yourself a good meal.
If you normally don't cook, or can't cook, this might sound a little weird. But do it, just once. Get all the ingredients together, and make yourself a nice meal. An appetizer, a big course, a dessert, the whole shebang. You've probably been eating way too much fast food and processed packaged junk all semester, and yeah, it tastes great and keeps you from dying, but it doesn't fill you up the way a good home-cooked meal does. So one of these nights, do some googling, find a recipe, and go for it. Make macaroni (homemade), some chicken, some steak, some lasagna. Go wild. Not only is the cooking therapeutic, you'll feel so nourished and good afterwards it's definitely worth it.
5. Clean your house/dorm/apartment/room.
This sounds like the opposite of what you want to do on break, I know. Get off from a semester of hard work and deadlines and what, clean? No. It will make a difference though. Even if you're the kind of person who keeps things clean and generally organized during the semester, do it. Doing a deep clean, and sweeping your floor and mopping, cleaning off windowsills and organizing your desk and cabinets and everything, it'll make a huge difference. Clean house = clean mind, and even if you feel like it's clean already, going through and doing an extra good clean will give you a good start on the New Year and refresh your mental state, take you out of your rut. If you're feeling frisky, maybe rearrange a little too, give yourself an extra boost.
6. See friends, family, love interests. At least call them.
This is probably on your list, so I'm not going to say a lot about it, but reconnect. If you're living on campus, you're probably going back to see your family anyway, but if you are, make sure you really connect with them, don't just use them as a launching pad to see your best friend. Try to connect with a lot of people that you've been neglecting all school year so far. If you live far away, try to at least call a few people, or even send them a message if you're not that close. Friendships and relationships are important- let them know.
7. Hide your backpack.
This is the last thing I'll say, but not the least important. Get rid of it. Stick it in a closet or somewhere else far away. Just don't let yourself think about the next semester for a while. Let it go, don't worry about it. Just don't think about and put away all the reminders. Maybe not the entire break, but for most of it.
