Whether you just spent the week in Cancun, London, or your hometown, you’re probably feeling a little bit of the post-break blues; you’re scrolling through your own Instagram looking at the cute pictures you posted, sighing every time you see your tan lines, and turning your alarms for class back on this morning might have made you want to puke.
Fear not, colliegettes! Her Campus has everything you need to bounce back, and just in time for the dreaded finals week.
1. Stay Hydrated
With all the laying out and running around on fabulous beaches that you’ve been doing, it’s likely that you’re a little dehydrated. Especially if you got a sunburn, you need to step up your water intake to replace what you lost over the week. Your skin (and your liver, if you’ve been drinking) will thank you. If plain water isn’t your thing, you can always add your favorite fruit, like pineapple or strawberries, for a little extra flavor…and a tiny snack as a reward when you finish your bottle.
2. Get Some Sleep
Especially if you were in a different time-zone for break, your sleep schedule is likely to be totally out-of-whack right now. Classes starting back up will force you to get up in the mornings, but you need to take special care to get to bed at a decent hour so that your alarm going off in the morning doesn’t trigger extreme rage that can only be remedied by throwing said alarm across the room. To help yourself sleep, if your body still thinks it’s two in the afternoon when you’re actually back in the states and it’s midnight, you can employ the use of a sleep mask, like the ever-fabulous Blair Waldorf does here:
3. Reminisce
If you had the time of your life over break, returning to your dorm or apartment might have been a little bit of a let-down. (What do you mean I have to share my bathroom again?) Head to your nearest photo center, like a Walgreens or CVS, and print some of your favorite pictures from your trip to hang in your bedroom. Put them somewhere you’ll see them a lot, like the back of your door, so when you’re heading out to class you can catch a glimpse of the view from your hotel room and spend your walk to Chemistry feeling oh-so-zen.
4. Change It Up
When you go to a different place for the first time and really enjoy the culture, you’re going to miss it when you get home. If you particularly enjoyed an aspect of the culture you experienced, like the food, see if there are any classes in your area that offer more information about it. If you can’t find a cooking class, a cookbook from Amazon is always an option. You can bring the flavors from your trip right into your apartment, and your roommates will thank you. Bonus points if you can be more enthusiastic about it than Jenna Marbles. (Warning: The language in the hyperlinked video is very colorful.) Cooking is one of the best parts about being a grown-up!
5. Refocus
Even though every day is like a mini-vacation here in Wilmington, that doesn’t mean we can keep taking days off after break ends. After spring break, most colleges only have a couple of weeks left before finals start up, and if you’re still struggling through your post-break mourning process, that can be a terrible wake-up call! Look at the syllabi for all of your classes and remind yourself what you have due soon, when your finals are, and how long you’ll need to prepare–and then get to work!