Can you see it, so close but still so far away—Spring Break my dear friend, where are you? I’m currently drowning in assignments galore and need Spring Break, like yesterday. My procrastination levels have reached its peak and my motivation is slowly dwindling, but here I am, still trucking along. Who else can relate?

Whenever I think about Spring Break my mind always drifts to taking some much awaited, lavish mini vacation. But in my case, things usually don’t play out that way and I hate the idea of letting the week pass by and not have accomplished/done something. So, as a college student, there are a few things I think that should be taken into consideration, both studiously and leisurely, during the golden week.

1. Play the catch-up game.

Granted, this isn’t the ideal thing to do during the break, it can definitely benefit you for your good. To the college student who’s been procrastinating or struggling with keeping up with everything up until this point in the semester then this is the perfect opportunity for you to get caught up on stuff.

I don’t have any big plans for spring break this year, so I’ve decided to utilize that free time to finish all of the open online homework, including the extra credit, I have in one of my classes that way it’ll be easy sailing in that class for the remainder of the semester. Don’t get it confused though, I’m not encouraging spending the whole break slaving away at class material( but hey, if that’s what you want to do, knock yourself out) but it can’t hurt to set aside some time each day to work on this and that, here and there—that brings me to my next point.

2. Relaxation at its finest.

Now, to the college student who’s been staying on top of everything, sacrificing your sleep to study galore, going that extra mile versus the ones around you, then you my dear friend deserve to sit back, relax, and enjoy this break for exactly what it is. Take some time to indulge yourself in things you haven’t been able to do because anything and everything school-related has been your first priority.

If you had to pick one thing you really want to do, what would it be? For me, it’s getting crafty and diving into a fat book! For weeks I’ve been meaning to dedicate time to working on my
Vision Board but my busy schedule just hasn’t allotted me time to do so; as far as the book that currently has my interest goes....well, I’ve been reading it since the first week of classes and still haven’t finished.

3. Feel the sand in your toes and sun on your back.

This one is for the college student who is going to be doing the ideal thing most of us want to be doing during Spring Break—going to the beach. If I could have it any other way, then this would no doubt be my choice on how to spend this much awaited week; I can see it my head now, sitting on the beach reading a good book. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

According to an article on Forbes.com, these are some pretty sweet destinations with some awesome perks to consider for your destination vacation:
1. Manhattan Beach, California
2. Clearwater Beach, Florida
3. Laguna Beach, California
4. Florida Keys, Florida
5. Puerto Penasco, Mexico

4. Look around you, there are so many things to get involved in.

And lastly, to the college student feeling unsure about what exactly to do, look into doing something inexpensive but still fun over break. In fact, there’s a wide variety of activities you could get into! For example, take the time to enjoy the beautiful weather and look into hiking on a trail (trust me there’s gotta be one somewhere wherever you live). This not only allows you to become “one with nature” but also center yourself and your thoughts; you’d definitely get a good break from the crazy reality around you and be able to appreciate a more simplistic side of life.

Adding onto to that, volunteer work can also be a refreshing way to spend your week. My school offers a program for the week where we can sign up for various volunteer work activities to partake in, so that could be something to look into at your school as well! Not only does it feel great being able to help someone else or do something for a great cause, it’s a good addition to resumes.

Whether you’re the college student who’s playing catch-up, who’s beachin’ it up, or who’s workin’ up a sweat volunteering to help plant trees over Spring Break, there’s an option for everyone? With that being said—which of these describe you? How do plan on spending your Spring Break?