Spring semester has just begun and for many of us the back-to-school routine has yet to settle in. It may seem that Spring Break is far away, just something to daydream about during [insert tedious and boring lecture here]. However, if you’re planning to leave the country or hop on a plane to Florida, chances are you were smart enough to plan ahead and already have everything set in stone. Must be nice.
So, what happens when you don’t have anything planned? How can we still enjoy our Spring Break? Take it from a girl who craves sunshine year round and is coping with the fact that her Spring Break will not be spent in Cancun, Mexico again. Not to mention her two best friends are abroad in Australia. The struggle is real.
Never mind all that. We can still have fun.
1. Explore Your City
This applies to Collegiettes everywhere! Taking UMass into consideration, however, how many times have you heard that Northampton is a really cool place to go? Well…have you been? The UMass campus is so large and offers essentially everything you need to live your every day life. That’s great and all, but we tend to forget that there is life outside of UMass (crazy, I know). Check out this awesome article that talks about all of the things you can explore in Northampton.
2. Create Your Own “Bucket List”
The Bucket List and I have become good friends over the last couple of years. Nothing is quite as satisfying as writing down a bunch of things you’ve never done before and giving yourself incentive to actually go do them. Don’t let the week off from school pass you by. Grab a friend who also forgot to invest time in planning a Spring Break getaway and come up with a list of new things to try. Here are some examples (perhaps it will spark your imagination): Take a Bikram Yoga class, learn to cook a new meal, create a blog, come up with a viral Vine, and/or visit your grandmother (no better way to collect family brownie points). You catch my drift. There are endless possibilities.
3. Volunteer
We can all use a little more community service. The best part? There is always a need for volunteers. I guarantee you’ll have no trouble finding an organization that needs an extra set of hands. You can even try to find a volunteer project that ties in with your major. Boom. Resume builder.
4. Visit a Friend
We often have friends from high school or even early college years who go to school in very inconvenient locations. Close enough that you don’t need to get on a plane, yet far enough to make the drive a nightmare. A Spring Break with no plans seems like the perfect opportunity to suck it up, fill up the tank, and go visit him or her.
5. Work and Sleep
Last but certainly not least, there is nothing wrong with spending Spring Break making money and catching up on sleep. Those are two things we lose a lot of throughout the semester. Having a little extra cash flow might make the rest of the semester a bit easier on the mind. And who could ever argue with, “I just want to sleep”?
Whatever you choose to do Collegiettes, staying home or staying at school is not always a bad thing. There are always options and it all depends on your perspective.