Student Blog: The Great Return From Spring Break

“I found a guy, told me I was a star…” 

Strings play behind Olivia Rodrigo’s angelic voice to wake me up at 6:00am. In a sleepy daze, I hope that the alarm is one I forgot to delete during spring break. It’s not, but as my eyes begin to shut, I remember what the alarm was for. Disney!

Each morning of spring break began the same way but led to a completely different adventure. Rather than rest and relaxation, I woke up before the sun to be in six states over the course of just three days. Needless to say, I returned for the remaining six weeks of the semester exhausted.

Getting back into the rhythm of school is difficult after a week off. Spring break is timed perfectly to throw students right back into the deep end of work when they return. My friends and I were met with exams and papers as welcome back gifts from our professors. While most students were enjoying our time away from the stress of classes, assignment notifications were eagerly awaiting our return. 

To me, spring break feels like the pause between the first wave of a tsunami and the subsequent drawback of water. During the beginning half of the spring semester, I settled into my new schedule of classes and found a rhythm of work and play. 

Midterms season is the first wave. As spring break comes into view, professors are rushing to squeeze in lessons, projects, and exams before their students are left defenseless against the unmotivating powers of spring break. 

Exams. Splash! Essays. Splash! Projects. Splash!

As students are thrust around between the stresses of classes, it is simultaneously the prime time for summer internship applications. Another SPLASH! 

Then you reach spring break. The storm is over, you think. Finally! Maybe you go home to work. Maybe you go on a tropical vacation with your friends. Either way, it is a relief to not have class. You enjoy seven days of freedom, and before you know it, back to school you go!

Even though a break seems like the perfect time for correcting your sleep schedule, most students will return to campus, and the drawback will reveal the damage done. The remains of projects or papers left undone are accompanied by a new wave of debris from the ocean. Plus, it is the semester’s worth of catch up season.

I wondered why spring semester felt so much faster than the fall semester. My theory is this tsunami-like structure where students and professors are left with much to do in the little remaining time after spring break. 

Everything happens so fast that there is not a moment to pause and realize what’s going on. However, when I take a second to look up, there is the finish line just a bit farther. It’s there, it’s close, but it’s still a distance away. 

I’m patiently awaiting that final day of classes when I can jump fully into the joys of summer. The anticipation of beach days, family time, and pool days is what’s pushing me through these final weeks of classes. What I’m looking forward to most, though?

Seeing my dog.