We’ve done it -- the semester’s finally over. All the final exams, essays, research papers, and projects are finished, and we all only lost a few days worth of sleep and developed a caffeine addiction in the process. But what now? We don’t go back to school for at least a month. Obviously, a long break is a great thing. But what are we going to do during that time, if anything at all?

We’ve gotten so used to the bustling chaos that is college life, it might feel strange not worrying about last minute assignments, cumulative tests, and 8 a.m. classes. It’s kind of sad really, come to think of it. We’ve conditioned ourselves to wade through the riptides of stress that a college education so graciously provides. We’ve had to do so in order to survive. Guess I shouldn’t complain though -- this is what we signed up for, right? It’s just not what we tell our relatives at the dinner table when they ask how school’s going and not on colleges’ brochures.

So when we get home, it might be difficult transitioning from a college mentality. I know I’ve already woken up a few times, looked at the clock, and automatically wondered if I could get to class on time. Now to clarify, I’m a writing major, so most of my assignments are essays. Personally, I don’t mind it, as one of the reasons I’m a writing major is that I was one of the few kids at my high school who didn’t audibly groan whenever an essay was assigned. Maybe I should add that to my résumé. Anyway, while I certainly don’t mind writing essays, they can still begin to add up and get overwhelming. I didn’t even bother trying to write for myself this semester, which was surprising (although my lack of time management skills was not). Now that I’m home with no essays hanging over my head, I still can’t seem to bring myself to write for fun (besides this article, of course). I worry that the sheer number of essays this semester burned me out and worry further because writers aren’t supposed to get burned out by essays.

So what are we supposed to do without classes or assignments? Curl up into a ball and hibernate? Tempting. Some of us might end up working a job during our time of, and hats off to them if that’s their style. Others might catch up on or indulge in some Netflix or even reading. Remember reading for fun? I barely do, but I miss it dearly. That's not to say some of the things I read for my classes weren’t interesting, but I can’t remember the last time I sat down and read a book solely because I wanted to. Perhaps we should use the time to catch up with our families, who we see so little of during the school year. My initial weekend back, I went and saw "The Force Awakens" with my brother and father, both because it’s "Star Wars" and I felt it appropriate since they were the first two people I saw all of the other movies with. Regardless of what we do with this time off, there’s no denying we’ve earned it.