Jennifer Peña/Contributing Writer
As Winter Break approaches, promises of sitting around in sweatpants fill our tired, post-finals minds – and rightly so. Who wouldn’t want to take a hard-earned break after weeks of studying and writing papers?
The question is, where do we draw the lines for ourselves when it comes to taking breaks? Does a long semester justify sitting around for the next three weeks in pajamas on the same spot on the sofa, even if it’ll make it harder for us to adjust to the next semester?
While there’s nothing wrong with taking a load off, the weeks between semesters don’t have to be full of wasted time. This Winter Break, you don’t have to take a break from yourself.
After pushing through finals, don’t stop yourself from sleeping in. If you wake up at two in the afternoon, you still have the rest of the day to do something for yourself (even if it’s only one thing). Doing nothing productive over the whole break will only make the start of the new semester harder for you.
If there’s a skill you’ve always wanted to learn but haven’t found the time or motivation, you can take some time out of your next few weeks to make a YouTube playlist about it (or use your FIU student access to LinkedIn Learning courses).
For me, that means trying to seriously learn to play the piano by practicing and taking notes on YouTube videos. Whatever it means for you, as long as you think of it as an investment in your future self and choose a skill that will be fun for you, you can feel a little better about your time spent online – possibly even better than you would feel after watching “The Aristocats” for days on end.
Of course, there’s no need to feel like you can’t take a break, especially after working so hard in the last few weeks of the semester. Still, sleeping in and watching TV doesn’t have to be the only things you do in your time off. Whether it’s going for a run, taking up a new hobby or reading a book that’s been sitting on your shelf for months, find your own way to invest in yourself this Winter Break.
Featured photo from Theo Crazzolara on Flickr.
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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
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