One of the biggest FOMO times of the year is during spring break week at college. Seeing your friends go away to tropical locations or hearing your classmates talk about their Miami plans can make it easy to feel discouraged about your own spring break vacay.
I haven’t traveled anywhere for spring break in years. The last time I went anywhere was in 2019, before the pandemic, and before life started getting hectic. I was 16 turning 17 on that trip, which I actually had spent traveling and exploring in Greece. Since then, I’ve spent my spring breaks either locked up in my room with a bag of hot fries and re-runs of my favorite shows or working at my part-time job.
Maybe it’s because this year is the first year in a while I’m spending spring break alone, but for some reason, I keep racking my brain about what I want to fill my time with this year. Of course, I will still be working (gotta make that money somehow, right?) but I want to make my spring break (with myself) worth while. And what better time to take on a new hobby, cook a new meal, workout, clean, and spend time with friends and family than during spring break?
If you’re feeling discouraged about your spring break plans, take a break with me (no pun intended) and think about all of the things you haven’t done or like to do and can do while at home. Take some tips from my list or use it to come up with your own spring break plans.
1. Try a new hobby
Last year for spring break, I had bought a diamond painting kit and found myself spending hours putting it together while watching TV or one of my favorite podcasts. It was a really fun, calming project that I ended up really enjoying.
If you ever find yourself wishing you could just take that cycling class or try to sit down and draw or finally learn how to crochet, spring break is the perfect opportunity to do just that. Set some time aside if you work or have other commitments during the day, and just start. It doesn’t matter if you’re not good at it at first or you feel like you don’t have a “natural talent” for it, just do it for fun, and do it for you.
2. Take yourself on a date
I’m being serious. Whatever you would love to do on a date, do that for yourself. Take yourself shopping or out to eat. If you’re interested in art, take yourself to an art gallery or an art museum. If you like to watch movies, take yourself to the movie theater. Do you like being outside and talking walks? Find a nearby park that you’ve never been to and explore. Do you enjoy reading? Take yourself to a book store and pick out a new book to start reading. There’s so many different things you can do alone and still have a good time.
3. make mini vlogs
This is one of my favorite things to do. If I know my day or week is going to be pretty mundane and “boring”, I love to record what I’m doing and vlog. Sometimes, I get inspired and will make actual vlogs out of the videos and I’ll post them to TikTok or Instagram. If you take yourself on a date (from step 2!) commemorate those moments by vlogging! Even if no one sees them. I personally believe any type of vlogging is fun to do, no matter what you’re doing.
4. Create new daily habits
I think one of the best ideas to do during spring break (or long break periods in general) is to start implementing a new routine. The reason why I think a break time is perfect for starting this is because it can be hard to create new habits during everyday busy life. You feel less motivated and it’s easy to get distracted by other things. During spring break, not many things have your attention at every moment of the day. If you want to try waking up at 8 am, try doing that for a few days during spring break and see how you feel. If you want to start going to the gym more, do the same thing.
It isn’t hard to start implementing a new habit, but what is hard is being consistent. The nice thing about doing this during spring break is that by the time you get back to campus, you have a little bit of time under your belt doing this new task. It will be a little easier to manage than if you were to start it in the middle of your campus chaos.
5. Spend time with friends, family, or pets
A good cure to FOMO is reminding yourself of all the things you love and have in your life, people being one of them. Even if you like to spend most of your time alone (like myself), a good way to spend your time during breaks is with family and friends. Reconnecting, catching up, and laughing are all remedies to feeling FOMO. It’s hard to feel like you’re missing out if you’re having a good time and feeling happy, surrounded by people who you love and love you.
Whether you spend time with your mom, dad, sibling, cousin, best friend, or your dog, make it intentional and remind yourself (and them!) of the love you have for them. Go out for brunch with a friend, get coffee with your mom, or take your dog on a walk. Spending time with loved ones is one of the easiest ways to feel grounded and whole.
No matter what you choose to do during spring break, don’t pressure yourself into expecting it to look a certain way. There’s no telling what the future holds, and you might have the time of your life while on your at-home staycation. Welcome new opportunities and new adventures and see where life takes you!