At Hamline, there are many interesting J-term courses and study abroad opportunities. But if you’re not filling your January with an academic course, it may be hard to think of how you’re going to effectively use the month. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Catch up on sleep:
We can finally sleep in again! Use this time to get a lot of rest—you deserve it. Go to bed early and reset your sleep schedule. You’ll thank yourself when classes start again.
Spend time with friends:
Some of your friends may not get the whole month of January off, but spend time and catch up with the ones who do. If they go to colleges nearby and have to return to classes early, ask to visit them on campus. They’ll appreciate your interest in seeing their new home.
Eat home cooked meals:
Enjoy every meal at home as if it was your last; you’ll miss food from home after the first week of eating Anderson food again. If you don’t feel like cooking, use your free month to try out new restaurants or to return to places that only exist where you live.
Catch up on your fav shows:
We all know we watch Netflix during the school year too, but it’s a lot harder to binge a show late at night when you really should be studying. You could even start a new show too—you still have a few weeks to get started.
Deep clean your living space:
If you’re staying on campus during January, it’s a great time to finally clean out your dorm. There’s less people and more time, so do the vacuuming, dusting and washing that you’ve been putting off for the last four months.
Make some money:
Get a job, or two or three. Get those hours. Get those paychecks so that you can take a break from work when classes start again without being broke.
Marathon a movie series or finish a book:
Freeform will stop playing the Harry Potter movie marathons, but what’s to say you can’t put them on yourself? Pick a day and watch a whole series; there are plenty of great recent choices to choose from. The same goes for books, which are just as easy to “marathon” for a day when they’re not required for a class.
Reorganize:
You may have been thinking that your desk really should have less stuff on it, or that your fridge really shouldn’t be blocking the air vent, but been too lazy to fix it. Break is the time to readjust your room so that it really fits your needs and habits, or just so that you can have a new set-up to admire.
Teach yourself a new skill:
Do all of the things that you haven’t had time to try. Learn how to play an instrument, dabble in a foreign language or teach yourself how to make a really good pie. If it takes you a while, that’s okay—you have all month.
Travel:
For some this means getting on a plane and going on vacation, but it could mean that you explore what surrounds you. Pick a direction, find a few friends, drive for a couple of hours and see where it takes you.
If you’re not taking a J-term, do not despair, for you have time to do all of the things that classes have kept you from doing.