Back to Reality

These post-spring break blues are killing me.

For many of us, this year was the first “real” spring break experience for college (and maybe high school) students.

In the spring of 2020, I had no idea what the future was going to hold. So, being the young college student, I am seeking relief from academic stress, I boarded the plane with my childhood best friend to spend the week in Florida visiting my parents. Despite the stress taking over the world, we found comfort in each other as we spent our days in coffee shops and in the clear-blue waters. And as relaxing as the vacation truly was, I often forget to consider this vacation as a spring break purely due to the fact that for the rest of the spring, I spent my days in my room, on my computer, trying to continue my academics. The uncertainty and stress that came with quarantining in the pandemic overshadowed the peaceful vacation and the happy memories.  

In the spring of 2021, spring break did not exist. And since spring break did not exist, rather than spending it in the sunshine with my feet in the sand, my roommates and I found ourselves struggling with extreme burnout. And let me tell you… there is nothing worse than struggling with burnout in a pandemic where there are very few things to revive yourself. So, in short, my 2021 “spring break” was terrible.

Now, the spring of 2022, nearly two years after the initial start of the COVID-19 pandemic, things are becoming more normal. I just spent 5 days in Florida, with my best friend, lounging on the beach and strolling around town as we gracefully neglected anything, and everything related to school, and I have never felt better. Though I was the happiest I have ever been on this vacation, I have come to find myself in a rut, struggling to motivate and find happiness at school. I guess some might ask why I am having such severe post-spring break blues, but the reason is simple: I have never had to experience such a fun break from school, then quickly readjust back into the swing of college.  

I am continuously learning to find comfort within the discomfort of the situation because in the end I know I will learn from it. For anyone else who is feeling the same, I have a few tips that have helped me try to jump back into things.

• Schedule out your days from start to finish

Since we all know time does not exist when we are away from school, this has helped me structure my days. Some things that I have written in my planner are: when I am waking up, when I am planning on making breakfast and cleaning my apartment, my class schedule, and where I plan to complete my school assignments.

• Let’s get a normal sleep schedule back!

I will be the first to admit that there is a large difference in how I treat my sleep at school vs. at home (and especially how I treated on break). So, I utilize the “bedtime” function on my phone that silences notifications after 10:45 pm, and wakes me up at 8:15am. This has been a very helpful reminder for knowing when to turn off my phone and let my body rest.

• Schedule some time for yourself

Self-care is the best care! When I find myself getting back into my routine, I always find time to do the things I like to keep a sense of normalcy in my everyday life. This helps me destress and remember that I am a real person outside of my academics.

Now that it is crunch time, and we are all trying to finish the semester strong, I hope that everyone can quickly get back into the groove of college.