As a senior, I now have four J-terms under my belt and let me tell you, they never get better. It’s six weeks off from school, which sounds like a dream come true on paper. You think that it’ll be relaxing, blissful and full of fun times with your friends from home that you haven’t seen in so long. In reality, it’s six long weeks away from school, your friends and all of your responsibilities. It’s six excruciating weeks of hanging out with your parents, reverting back to your moody teenage mindset, and loneliness once all your friends go back to school because they don’t have J-term at their university.
J-term sucks. But there are things that you can do to make it suck less. Here’s what I’ve learned over the years:
Get a job
The thing that is hardest for me over J-term is having nothing to do. The first week is relaxing and I’m glad for the break, but after a while, it gets SO BORING. I’m the type of person who needs to get out of the house at least once a day to do something productive. So, I recommend that everyone tries to get a job to keep themselves busy over the long break. Lots of places hire seasonal workers or you could babysit/dog walk. There are lots of ways to earn a buck and get you out of the house!
Take a class
The one perk of J-term is that it presents you the opportunity to get ahead in your classes. That’s really the whole point of it, but it seems like not that many people take advantage of it. Miami offers online classes, classes on campus or even study abroad courses during January. I’ve taken a “study abroad” class to New York City and it was the best J-term I’ve had. It gave me something to look forward to, things to work on while I was still at home and then a fun experience that I got credit for! If you have the chance to take a class next J-term, I would seriously suggest that you do.
Exercise
This one is definitely the biggest thing that I do that keeps me feeling good over J-term and during winter as a whole. If you have a gym membership back at home, it gives you a chance to leave the house for at least one hour each day. If you don’t have a gym you can go to at home, bundle up, put on a podcast and go for a walk. Getting outside and soaking up some vitamin D will make you feel so much better. And if you’re snowed inside, try yoga! There are a ton of free videos available on Youtube that will provide a great work out and a sense of zen.
Get a library card
Arthur wasn’t lying when he said “having fun wasn’t hard when you’ve got a library card.” I always take J-term to read all the books that I don’t have time to read during the semester. Once again, going to the library will get you out of the house as you browse the aisles looking for your next read, or you can read it there! I read like five books this J-term and escaping into a good story really helped keep me sane.