Around midterms it seems that Murphy’s Law kicks into effect and everything that can possibly go wrong does, but there is that one silver lining of hope called spring break.
Spring break just seems to come around at the right time: at the very end of a person’s stress threshold.
Luckily, break comes along and for a brief moment it appears that school, roommates and that long research paper are a thing of the past that can go on the back burner, where for a week the most advanced thought can be “what will I eat for dinner?”
I have a few friends who told me that they had to do homework and one who told me she had an assignment due over break. Working on homework completely disrupts the feel of spring break as the calm before the storm of finals, graduation or registering for classes.
It makes sense that taking time away from productive learning can mean that some content won’t be covered but it also saves students from the risk of burnout. I understand that professors have to cover certain amounts of content, but for those of us who can have a homework-free break, the week feels all the more relaxing.
In college it is all too easy to feel caught up in the routine of class, work, studying in the library and then a little bit of extra time for working out and hanging with friends. Spring break allows us to relax and temporarily escape the world of caffeine addictions and office hours and rediscover what it is that you love.
Last week I was fortunate enough to go camping in Moab, Utah. Any time I get to spend the night in a tent is a good night, even if the desert turns bitterly cold at night and I bring home a small sand dune in my tent.
I came home with a red nose that will rival Rudolph’s any day and enough blisters to make me swear off hiking in sandals, but also a week full of funny stories and a few new friends. I was reminded of what it feels like to wear the same dirty t-shirt all week and not care and smile at seeing the sun rise over a canyon. There is something immensely satisfying about eating trail mix during a hike or jumping in a hot spring and feeling all the dirt escape your pores.
I know that many UW students had to work or fight through a few tricky homework assignments over break, but for that brief moment spring break was a much-needed reminder of life beyond college and a chance to rediscover the joie de vivre that makes each day worth living.
Now it is back to class, but this is the home stretch so hang in there. Warm weather and summer camping trips are still to come.
