Now that the stresses of finals weeks are over, you can focus on yourself again. Hopefully, your veins have returned to running with blood, replacing the caffeine that pumped through them as you suffered through the end of the semester. There is no more need to cram copious chunks of knowledge into your head, for the meanwhile. Being broken by the stresses of exams and papers, you can now enjoy a month long break, only enjoyed by college students. At home, you can relax without care, spending time with family and friends. You can eat cookies, drink egg nog, and roast chestnuts over an open fire. Christmas celebrations, family members, and nostalgia will arrive again.
So, now that we've arrived, here are some ideas to make the most of your leisure:
1. Sleep.
So, you come off of a week when you have had minimal sleep each night trying to cram tons of information into your head and scrape out multiple essays. You body is screaming for more sleep; the lethargy is setting in. At the first sight of Christmas break, all you want to do is hibernate. However, according to a 2010 Harvard Medical School study, "the effects of chronic sleep loss on performance... demonstrates that it is nearly impossible to "catch up on sleep" to improve performance." So, you may not be able to make up for all the sleep lost during finals week.
Instead, you can start to form a better habit for next semester by making a steady sleep schedule. You may also be tempted to sleep in every day to take advantage of all the free time you have. But this won't help you too much in the long run, because once spring semester comes around, your body will be shocked when you have to shorten your sleep again from 10 hours a night to seven or fewer. Enjoy the extra sleep, but don't go crazy.
2. Exercise.
Speaking of forming good habits, another one to add to the list is exercise. Often neglected during stressful times, exercise actually can help you cope with stress more. When exercising, endorphins, or neurotransmitters in your brain, are released, making you feel happier afterwards. Also, by taking an exercise break, you often find that you can return afresh to your work with a clear perspective because you've separated yourself from that stressful environment for a little.
Many people mark their New Year's Resolutions list with the number one priority being exercise more. So, why not get started a little earlier than everyone else? By starting an exercise schedule now, you'll have a few weeks on all those renewed athletes. Use it to form a habit so that while everyone struggles to continue exercising come January seventh, you'll still be going strong.
3. Take Advantage of Good Home Cooking.
Not only will it make your parents happy to have you all together around the kitchen table, but mom's home cooking will replenish you from four months of banal cafeteria grub. While you're at home, take some time to learn cooking tricks from your parents, who have a lot more experience with this 'living on your own' thing than you do. Have fun cooking and experimenting with new recipes, while keeping the old family holiday traditions too.
4. Read.
If you're like me, you have an ever-growing list of books to read. Going to college, I have come across so many book recommendations from professors, friends, and other resources. Breaks are the perfect time to delve into your catalog of books. Check out your local library for free reading. Also, Amazon offers a lot of free kindle versions of classic books. If you don't have a kindle, you can still read the books through the kindle app for laptops. Additionally, don't forget to review any works that impacted you over the semester; read over your notes again and reflect on those pieces which switched on the light bulb during your studies.
5. Road Trip.
A month away from some of your close friends can be a long time. In college, you get to meet people from all over, yet, it is great when you get to bond with others from your own state. More likely than not, there are some college friends that live within a few hours of you. Why not bridge the gap and road trip to see them, or split the distance and meet up? You may not have known each other before going to college, but now, you can see their hometown and where they grew up. It adds another level to your friendship to see where your friend was raised.
6. Volunteer.
There is nothing that fits the reason for the season more than giving of yourself for someone else. By offering your time and talents for those in need, you can spread the joy of Christ who came into the world to do the same for us. Look for different non-profits that need holiday volunteers. There is undoubtedly some toy drive or Christmas meal delivery that is in need of helping hands. Also, you can get back into the community that you've been away from for four months. While volunteering, you'll probably run into some friends and neighbors who would be glad to hear how your college experience is going.
7. Form Habits.
As I mentioned with sleep and exercise, Christmas break offers a hearty chunk of time to amend your life. Think ahead about your New Year's Resolution list. What are the places in which you want to improve in your life? What distractions do you want to remove? What things do you want to learn more about? Who do you want to get to know better? By starting early on your resolutions, you can close out the year well and be prepared to hit the ground running for next year.
Another idea to keep in mind is that New Year's isn't the only time to make resolutions. Throughout the year, you should be trying to cultivate good virtues and routines to improve yourself. Try to set little goals that you can achieve to avoid discouragement. Just put one foot in front of the other and soon you'll be walkin' across the floor.
8. Pick Up A New Hobby or Skill.
In addition to forming better habits for your health and lifestyle, you can also pick up a few new hobbies, too. Have you ever wanted to learn how to play an instrument, speak another language, or master a sport? Although you may not become a pro in four weeks, you can definitely get a good start. There are tons of resources online to help you get started with whatever skill you want to develop. I for one, want to take up the harmonica. My college has a big culture of Irish/folk music, of which the harmonica is an important part. So, by learning how to play the harmonica over break, I'll be able to go back to campus and play a different role in the culture on campus.
9. Get Ahead For Next Semester.
Most of these things have pointed to two things: recuperating from last semester and getting ready for next semester. Forming new habits is a very important, but you also need to materially get ready for next semester. Make your calendar and create a schedule for next semester. Plan out your goals, academically and otherwise. If you are really excited for the next semester, toward the end of break you can even look at some of your syllabi or textbooks to get in the mindset for classes.
10. Family/Friends.
In spite all of these things to get you prepped for next semester, don't forget that you are on a break. Spend lots of time with your family and friends, sharing stories from your semester and listening to their stories, showing them all that you learned, and having fun in the festivities and traditions of Christmas. Let the joy of the newborn Christ fill your time and restore you in the present moment.
