I had big plans for my winter break. I even made a list of all of the things that I was going to accomplish. The list included educational and productive items such as rereading my introductory geology textbook, learning how to use Google SketchUp and brushing up on my calculus skills. I thought about how good it would feel to cross these items off the list; how much closer I would be to my career goals.
I got about two chapters into the textbook and called it quits.
It’s not that I didn’t want to make the most out of my time off, it’s just that I was misguided in thinking that this was how my break would best be spent. After three months of 12-hour days and weekends spent catching up on homework, what I desperately needed was to reconnect with my friends, family and myself. I abandoned the list, slept in nearly every day, bought myself an unlimited pass to the yoga studio near my apartment and stocked the fridge with beer. Most evenings were spent watching movies with my husband or out at a show with friends. I spent time with my in-laws and nieces, and called my parents often. This might sound crazy, but one of the most satisfying things I did was clean my apartment. While classes are in session, my husband does most of the domestic work because I am rarely home. All the organizing, dusting and scrubbing was actually relaxing and gave me a chance to repay him for all of his hard work.
Even though my winter break wasn’t what most might call productive, I believe it will prove to be very beneficial to my success this term. I needed this time to decompress and reconnect and I am proud of myself for realizing that sometimes doing nothing is the best thing I could be doing. Now I feel ready to be back in action — I actually want to read a textbook. As for sleeping in, well, I’m never ready to give that up.