Hey ‘Dores! It’s t-minus 4 days until the start of spring break. While some of us may have trips planned with friends or going back home, this is a helpful guide for every Vanderbilt student no matter where they are. As we are almost mid-way through the semester, this guide will help you de-stress in preparation for the more and more stressful weeks to come forth.
5. Go Cherry Blossom Sight Seeing
For students who are staying on-campus, take advantage of the cherry blossoms that are happening all around campus! While there are some near the Hank Circle on Commons, you should tread on over to the Student Life Center to get the full, immersive experience. The timing to see these trees are rare, so make haste and hurry on over to see them in full bloom. However, for those of you who live in places where you do not get to celebrate all four seasons, especially spring, I highly encourage you to take a look at these before you head back home. If you want to take it a step further, you could also drive a few hours to the nearest state famous for their cherry blossoms.
4. Watch a Movie at a Theater
Wear a mask! COVID-19 regulations aside, I personally vouch that going in-person to a theater will always beat watching a movie on an online platform. It brings alive the experience of not only watching a movie for the first time, but also the accompaniment of caramel popcorn and cola! While we’re still on the month of Valentine’s Day, it’s never too late to ask your love interest out to a chill, movie night. This may be the beginning of your situationship.
3. Don’t Neglect the Inevitable
Yes…I said it. You should study over spring break. Now, I’m not saying you should be making your 20-page study guide in advance for your upcoming CS exam. I’m simply suggesting that you are completely caught up on the “required” readings that the professor briefly mentioned would be fair game for the exam after spring break. If you’re on campus and find that your next door neighbor happens to be in the same class, definitely knock on their door and ask to share notes! If you want to take it a step further, ask them out to a little study date.
2. Read Up
Now, this is a little different from what I recommended right above. This is the time to satisfy your inner nerd that once drove you to succeed in everything you do. Pick up that book that you momentarily thought about packing up and bringing to campus. If you did bring that book and haven’t touched it since the first day of your move-in, take that book for a nice walk and find a nice patch of grass.
1. SLEEP
Look me in the eye and tell me you got at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Oh what? You can’t. Perfect! Take this wonderful opportunity to actually get into bed by midnight and rest your eyes without constantly refreshing your email or TikTok For You page. I’m sure everyone has learned this in their general psychology class at one point, but let me reiterate. You cannot make up for lost sleep! Do not find yourself in a sleep debt. It’ll become a vigorous cycle.