Making the Most of Breaks

Many of us Scippsies are lucky enough to not have classes on Fridays, making every weekend a three day weekend! This made fall break, for both me and many of my peers, feel like quite a good chunk of time to either rest, travel or get ahead on work. In most cases, I have found that doing a combination of these things is the best way to utilize a break.

1.Rest and Travel:

Over fall break, I visited a friend at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and chose to take the redeye when flying there. I was able to sleep on the plane ride and, although hesitant at first, was glad that I chose to take the redeye. By travelling at night I didn’t feel like I lost the 12 hours that the train ride, bus ride, uber, and plane ride surmounted to. Although not the most comfortable for resting, I did sleep while on the plane. It was rest that I desperately needed from various midterms and essays due right before fall break. I was able to both travel and rest. But most importantly, I was able to rest while travelling, truly making the best use of my time.

2.Travel and Get Ahead on Work:

Two of my friends traveled to Santa Barbara for fall break and utilized the four-hour train ride to get ahead on work. They read their Core reading that was due the week after the break. They were able to make use of the combined eight hours that could have gone to waste. Ultimately, they alieved future potential stress and budgeted time in the future to work on other projects after the break. Travelling does not have to take away from productivity. In fact, it can often facilitate productivity because of the chunks of time that travelling demands you surrender to activities that are easily done while in transport, like reading.

3.Get Ahead on Work and Rest: (and Travel a bit too!)

Another one of my friends chose to make the short commute home and was overjoyed to be sleeping in her own bed for the first time since school began. She rested more deeply than she has so far as a college student and was able to do work in the environment where she had been productive for her whole life: her childhood home and, in particular, her beloved desk. Being at home facilitated her to work more productively than she had in months.

We should remember that it is time’s gift to have no classes on Fridays, or even classes that end early on Fridays. Our weekends, although not as long as fall break, can be utilized in the same way that we utilized fall break. It is a resting time. Travelling is more than possible here at the 5C’s whether it be walking to the farmer’s market in Claremont or renting a Scripps van and visiting LA for the day. Not having morning classes like we often do Monday through Thursday is the perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep for the week ahead. Moreso, doing work to prepare for the week, rather than just for Monday, is immensely helpful in catching those Z’s once the week comes. Resting, travelling, and getting ahead are all attainable on weekends and will make the week ahead much more enjoyable.

Staying on the (Shoveled) Path over Break

After what seems like a simultaneously years long semester and one that flew by in three seconds, winter break if finally here (yay!). It will be the first time this semester when I will be able to go back to Minnesota to see friends and family in person, though one of my friends did come to visit as a Scripps prospie. This is by far the longest time I’ve been away from home, and I am looking forward to flying back to the beautiful snow and holiday cheer. Flying back to the cold is debatable… I’ll get used to it again eventually.

After a busy semester, it’s always good to take a bit of a break. I know I’ll be doing some sledding with my friends as well as spending time with my family. My sister and I have one or two dramas to watch over break already… I know I’ll stop by my high school too to see some of my former teachers. It’ll be fun to re-acquaint myself with not only changes around the house, but also the city and fins out new things that my friends are up to.

Just because it will be break doesn’t mean I’ll be stopping my work. I likely will try to get ahead on Korean vocabulary for second semester and do some hours of work at the floral shop again (note to self, ask my boss to put me on the schedule over break). Aside from that, I hope to look into jobs for the summer in case I do not end up traveling. The big question for me is if I want to stick with my current position at the floral shop, move up in jobs within that grocery store, start a second part time job, or begin a new job more relevant to my career interests.

I have put in a little but of thought to this up until now, but with few results. It would be really neat to shadow or do a (paid?) internship where I could learn about interpreting. I know that at the Mayo Clinic there are medical interpreters, but I would have to look and see what sort of lower level opportunities they offer through that department, if any. The school district or local education systems may have something as well. but I’d have to look and see.

Either way, I’ll be busy relaxing and working over break. It’ll be nice to be home, even if it means wearing a heavy coat and mittens every time I leave the house.