The snow has begun to fall and we’re all running around trying to figure out our holiday plans, and make sure we have all our shopping done. It’s that time of year again and for me it is one of the best times of the year.

DePaul has a unique winter break, we take finals before thanksgiving so that we are able to stay home from Thanksgiving to New Year’s day. Before coming home I was worried as to what I was going to do for the two weeks in between Thanksgiving and when everyone else comes home for winter break.

What I found is that a having a winter break is not just about taking time off from work or school. It’s about working on yourself and your well being. There a tons of qualities I have noticed about myself that have changed since I started break.

The first one is that I’m no longer tired throughout the day. Once I got to college I found myself taking naps just about everyday around three or four o’clock. Even ask my roommate, Emily, when there was a day I didn’t take a nap we would joke about how I managed to make it through the day. For some reason college is overly draining for me, going out on weekends and then having lots of papers and readings during the week made me feel overtired. I found myself yawning and wanting to be lazy most days while at school. However, now that I am home I am able to carry throughout my day with full steam.

The next thing I’ve learned this break is how to take time for myself. While at school I found that I would get bored when not having constant interaction. When my roommate was out of the room I often got bored because I was tired of binge-watching Netflix shows and needed someone to talk to. One thing they don’t tell you about college is that when it’s not the weekend, you’re not in class or doing school work, it’s actually pretty boring. I used to be someone who didn’t need constant interaction, that’s my sister’s personality, not mine. But once I got to school and started living with people my age I had trouble being alone. Now that I am on break I have found that I know how to keep myself occupied. Yes, I still enjoy hanging out with my friends and family, but I am more content sitting in my room watching TV or listening to music alone. This is a quality that break has given me that I am very grateful to have back. I hated how I felt the need to constantly be around people, I think it is important to know how to be alone and occupy yourself.

Another thing that I’ve noticed about myself on break is that I have time to get the little things done that I would like to have done, but don’t always have time for. Small things such as making my bed each morning, reorganizing, putting away laundry where it goes, taking the trash out of my room and bathroom. When having so much time on your hands it’s nice to be able to do the things that you would like to have done, but when having so little time you just can’t force yourself to do it.

As all of you begin to take time off work, or start your winter break from school, I encourage you to take time for yourselves. Notice aspects of your lives that may be different now that you have time off.