Why spring break is given to us, how we don't take advantage, and what you can do to make your week productive
This is important because many students stress about not having spring break plans, when in reality, having no plans is more beneficial.

We get this random week off in the spring for a reason, right? School is put on pause for us to regain our strength and motivation, all in hope for us to make it through the rest of the academic year. After a long three months since being away from campus, someone, one day, thought of the brilliant idea to create this week of everything but education, a week to have a break from the homework and studying. The sole purpose we have a spring break is for that reason exactly; to take a break from our hectic, college lifestyle.

My question is, why do we like to spend our break as a party week, instead of spending it doing exactly what it was given to us for; a week of relaxation. Instead of relaxing and taking a break from life, we choose to go to Florida or somewhere else tropical, and party the entire week with the rest of the United States. Instead of taking a break from our hectic, college lifestyle, we go to the beach and do exactly what we do here in college, but intensified times ten. Anything at that point is better than studying, but realistically, we go out of state, simply, to celebrate being away. And in the broader picture, we leave campus to get way but instead bring ourselves to the edge of exhaustion, which is exactly the opposite of what we should be doing. Relaxing. We go and do exactly the opposite of what spring break is meant to achieve. My point is, as college students, we do not spend our spring break efficiently, and instead we set ourselves up for even more exhaustion and stress for when we come back to school.

I have to be honest, I’m only bitter because my spring break plans fell through, and am forced to be at home. Because of this, instead of being upset about having no plans, and wasting my time trying to hitch a ride to Fort Laudy, I’ve been thinking of the advantages of spending my spring break in Noblesville, Indiana.

We live in a fraternity or sorority with 80+ people every day from August to May. As much as I love being around people and being forced to be social 24/7, I love time at home to be alone and to do absolutely nothing. I can’t express to you my love for sitting on the couch and watching tv. As college students, I feel that we forget to give ourselves this time when we’re here at Purdue. Life gets in the way, we forget to sit down for a second, and drop all the thoughts in our minds. So schedule some time in your week to do nothing. Make sure you remember to engrave your spot on the couch and turn on your favorite show. This is the key to relaxation that you definitely will not have the opportunity for in PCB. It seems simple, but trust me, doing nothing these days never happens.

I’m a home-body. I love to be at home and be around my family, and in all honesty I cannot wait for that. I can’t wait to be around the people who will always be there. While I’m in West Lafayette, they go about their lives without me, and make sure that when I return, that it seems as if time had been frozen while I was gone. Nothing beats good ole family time. So for all of you spring-breakers with no plans, take advantage of the time with your family, and use this as an opportunity to make-up for all the time lost while we’ve been at school.

While watching tv and having family time gets old after a couple of days, you’ll soon find the odd urge of productivity that you wish you could have while at Purdue. I guess it’s because we’re bored and all of a sudden feel like we need to do something with our lives. We’re always busy at college, and never seem to find this extraordinary urge while we’re here, unfortunately. I plan to do my relaxing, and then use my week to take care of things that I don’t have time for while at school. Maybe some studying (probably not), maybe clean out my closet, maybe run some errands for my mom, maybe go to the gym, maybe read a good book (probably not this, either). I might not do some of those things, but at least setting goals and expectations for my week can keep my focus positive. I don’t have to think about the fact that I’m not doing anything on spring break, and everyone else is, and instead think about what my week will consist of and how I can make my time better spent.

Considering spring break, as a whole, I know that when I come back to school after that week, that I will be completely refreshed and rejuvenated. My mind will be greatly prepared for the upcoming exams and homework that I will have, my body will feel refreshed and healthy, and I will be 500 dollars richer than all of my friends. Speaking from prior experiences on spring break, considering I did the whole Panama City trip two years in a row, I will be better off with a break at home. I know that after spring break 2014, my brain will be ready to finish out the academic school year, I won’t have that extra ten pounds to lose from being unproductive, and I’ll have money saved up that I wouldn’t of had if I had gone to Florida.

In all secrecy, I’m still looking and hoping plans will unexpectedly come up, but for now, I’m going to let my positivity shine through. So for all of you non-Florida spring-breakers: lets spontaneously plan a trip and have more fun than all of the overachievers who planned their vacation six months ago. And for all of you actually going to PCB, Fort Lauderdale, South Padre or the Bahamas, your girl over here is still looking for plans if you have any extra room. Whether you spend your week as a party week, or prefer to spend it relaxing, make sure spring break 2014 is better than all the rest. Good luck, stay safe, and take advantage of this break from our hectic, college lifestyles.