As midterms come to an end and spring break approaches, students are preparing to enter the ‘break’ mindset as they take a much-needed hiatus from work mode. Going from one extreme to another can be overwhelming and lead to difficulty readjusting after break. Upon entering break mode, it can be challenging to discover a healthy and effective balance between relaxation and education.
Spring break should be a time to recharge, relax and celebrate after a hard week of exams and a heavy workload. However, it’s just as important that students maintain motivation and sight of their academic goals, even when enjoying a rare break.
Emily Quigley, a lecturer in the School of Journalism and Media and associate director of the Moody Writing Support Program, encourages students to utilize the time off to relax but to prepare before returning to school.
“I think maybe look ahead on the schedule, look ahead on your syllabus, to prepare yourself for what might be coming down the road,” Quigley said. “Even though a vacation is wonderful, it still is kind of an adjustment to come back to things, and so maybe planning… to sort of gather yourself together (and) get back into the mode, start looking at all your things that are due. … I think allowing yourself a little time to return to the real world can be helpful.”
As students, we are constantly finding ways to stay engaged with our studies through classes and extracurriculars. When those outlets are interrupted, we are pushed to find and discover our own ways to keep in touch with our education.
“I think you can look for little ways to stay in contact that maybe aren’t homework or those assignments that you have. … I think that there’s ways to incorporate some of that work, but it doesn’t feel like work because you’re doing it a different way,” Quigley said. “That maybe would be helpful to keep in the mode so you’re not completely going from one extreme to the other.”
It can become easy to dissociate from academics when the expectation for spring break is that it’s a time to disengage completely from school. While understandable, losing focus on academics completely can result in a harsh transition into the second half of the semester.
Zara Khan, a business and political communications freshman, plans on making the most of the break by taking time for herself, spending time with family and maintaining focus on her studies.
“My philosophy (is) … I try to get as much of the assigned work, the work I already know I have, (done) throughout the weekends; or in this case it’ll be spring break,” Khan said. “Doing that just helps make the transition back to school a lot easier because then I’m not doing work constantly when break is over, which will stress me out even more than doing work through break.”
Whether it’s reading a book, going over material or catching up on deadlines and assignments, the break can be a great way to learn on your own time, at your own pace and without a set list of expectations to adhere to.
Make use of the break to strengthen your academics while enjoying the time to yourself.
Ismert is a Liberal Arts third year from Dallas, Texas.
