It seems as though it was just three days ago that you walked through your garage door, arms full of luggage, more than ready to decompress after a very fulfilling, yet arduous semester. Wasn't it yesterday that you came in with that sad, patchy excuse of a beard, thinner than when you left a few months before, wearing the same t-shirt you wore twice that same week? It has to have only been two days since your family first embraced you at the door, bombarding you with questions and comments and smiles all around, as you wandered into the festively decorated house for the holidays...

Believe it or not, that was at least two weeks ago. I know it's hard to fathom, but winter break is flying by even quicker than last year. At this point, some of the days have more than likely gotten lost in a blur, and you may have even lost track of what day it is. (For your information, today is Tuesday... or is it?) The holiday season is commencing eminently soon, limiting your time left at home with family and hometown friends. This is the so called "crunch time" of break, the time to squeeze in as many fun plans as possible, to make the most of this soon-to-be memorable winter break.

My advice, just don't sleep. That is a tactic that I have attempted to use on several occasions throughout this time off, and it consistently leads to falling asleep very early in the morning and accidentally waking up late in the afternoon. It is a mistake that you would think I have learned from at this point. With that in mind, don't bother with that plan, and go to sleep at a normal time. While sleep is wonderful, it can also result in missing out on a large portion of the day if it is done too often or too little. That is the golden rule of winter break.

To get the absolute most of the remainder of your break, make plans now. Don't do it after this rerun episode of "How I Met Your Mother," do it now. Start texting your friends, see when they're available. Also, make an effort to do something different, something that you will fondly think about later when you're drowning in assignments, something that will make you smile or chuckle at first thought. Most city zoo's have light exhibits that grow year after year, and while you should definitely go and take it in with your family and/or significant other, also make arrangements to go somewhere new. Don't be afraid to go explore an abandoned bridge with your friends at 2 a.m., or go try out an interesting hole-in-the-wall restaurant an hour away for lunch with your best buds. Sometimes it's best not to make plans, but to just get in the car and drive until someone in the back seat has a cool idea. Quite often the best stories and memories begin in this same spot.

At night, don't feel as though you have to have something to do every night. Some of the most pleasant and convivial happenings take place when you are at home with the ones you love. Play a board game, rent a feel-good movie or a Hallmark Christmas movie and pop up some corn, make a meal together, it really doesn't matter what you do. The thing that does matter is that you're present. It's not enough to be in the same room, but you must actually be there. Leave the phone in your pocket or on the charger in the other room. After all, how can you genuinely enjoy the time with your family if you missed that great joke your sister just told because you were too focused on your twitter feed? Trust me, what's happening in front of your face is infinitely better than what's happening on the screen. I can promise you that.

Take some time to reflect and silently chuckle at the wonderful year you just had. Whether it really was wonderful or not, you can definitely conjure up at least five happy memories from the last 365-ish days. Also, take this quiet time to get yourself in the right mindset for the impending year ahead. If you are mentally prepared to go back to school and work, that is half the battle. Let yourself delve deeply into the mentality of not only immense focus, but also one that makes you smile. The best way I've found of doing this is to put on some chilling, thought-provoking music. Coldplay always does the trick, or really any indie/alternative group or album. A few weeks from now, when you're trudging through the cold air alone on the way to class, put in those earbuds and whatever songs you decided listen to from above, and you will instantly refresh your mind into the psyche you had originally. It will not only help you to clear your mind for a bit and maintain a positive attitude, but will remind motivate and remind you of the goals you made to help keep you on track. It works every time, ninety-nine percent of the time.

Be sure to take plenty of pictures. It's imperative that you capture at least a few of the moments as they happen. You'll slide in a grin later in mid-February when you're missing your time off. This will serve as a small reminiscent glimpse of the joy you shared with your family and mates, much like finding one last slice of chocolate cake someone thoughtfully saved for you in the back of the fridge after you thought it was long gone. Make sure you find a nice balance between seeing the events through the screen and beyond the screen. I'm sure many of you can recall that iPhone Holiday Commercial where it appears that the kid spends his whole time on his phone. In the end, you see that he was actually taking pictures and videos of everything that happened over break and compiled a family movie of it all. The plus side is that the movie was well done, he'll have that video to watch and relive over and over as many times as he likes, and he probably made quite a bit of money off of doing that for Apple. The only downside though is that he missed out on the quality time with his family. Like I said, find a balance.

There may only be a little over a week or two left of your break, so the choice is yours. Will you spend your last few days sleeping or watching reruns, or will you get out there and savor every last second of this gift of a break?