My guess is that you're reading this when you are still on winter break, which is great because you still have some time left to do all (or at least some) of the things on this list. If you're already back at college, well, good luck.
1. Leisure reading.
You have spent the past five months reading only what you have been required to read for class. If you are anything like me, your list of books -- that you are actually dying to read -- is miles long. Winter break was the perfect opportunity to have begun working your way through that list.
2. Spent less time watching Netflix.
If you watched everything over break, you will be left with nothing new to watch while you are "studying" in the spring.
3. Spent more time hanging out with your pets.
Pets are our best friends, but as college students, we often do not have the opportunity to spend much time with them -- especially when classes are in session. You could have advantage of your time at home by spending a good portion of it with your furry, scaly and too-cute-for-words friends.
4. Caught up with old friends.
Sure, you may have gone your separate ways when you left for college, but that does not mean that they are no longer special to you. Instead of merely messaging them holiday greetings on Facebook, you could have made time to catch up face-to-face with old friends from your hometown. You may have been surprised to find that it felt as if no time has passed at all when you were reunited.
5. Helped out more in the kitchen.
There is no better time than the holidays to learn some of your family's famous recipes. After all, you are probably not going to want to live on a ramen-only diet for the rest of your life.
6. Devised strategies to be more more organized in the new year.
If your life felt a bit hectic in 2015, perhaps it was because you were not quite as organized as you could be. (I am totally pointing at myself right now.) During winter break, you could have benefited from taking some time to identify the ways in which your life has been chaotic and working toward remedying them.
7. Sold your old textbooks.
They were not cheap and you will probably never use them again. However, when you return to college for the spring, you will have a ton of priorities and selling your textbooks probably won't be one of them. Winter break grants us a lot of free time, and with it, we can easily put our textbooks from last semester up for sale online.
8. Sorted through -- and thoroughly cleaned out -- your backpack.
I always accumulate a ton of miscellaneous junk in my backpack throughout the semester, and I never take the time to sort through it and toss stuff out. If you are a pack rat, winter break is the perfect time to take a look through your backpack. You might find a lot of weird -- and sometimes even cool -- things in there (like your college I.D., which you lost back in October and were forced to pay for a replacement).
9. Taken (more) pictures with your family.
You can never have enough of those embarrassing family photos. Just because you're no longer a kid does not mean that they can no longer happen. Years from now, you will look back at these memories fondly. Say cheese!
10. Worn an ugly Christmas sweater.
They are all on sale now, so at least you can have one (or 10) for next year.
11. Written thank you notes to the important people in your life.
No one should be taken for granted and the holidays are a great time to let your loved ones know how much they mean to you. Even if you have not done this during winter break, this is something that you can -- and should -- do all throughout the year.
12. Eaten an extra slice of pie (because you wanted and deserved it).
Thinking about all of the uneaten pies makes me very sad.
