It seems like the semester started yesterday, but amazingly, we've reached the last week of classes. Following that, we can all look forward to having a whole lot of time to ourselves.
There are positive and negative parts to that. On the one hand, it's nice to have some time to sleep in, and not having to spend all your time studying is always a refreshing change of pace.
And sure, it's fun to go back home and catch up on things with your high school friends. There are undeniably good things to be said about winter break.
On the other hand, there's one demon everyone must slay before enjoying this time of year: boredom.
Now that I've reached my third year of college, I know that is the hardest thing to fight. In my freshman year, I nearly died of boredom. Lying in my house all the time, sleeping in until three in the afternoon, feigning interest in mediocre college basketball games just so I'd have something to do. It was not a pretty sight.
During my sophomore year, I handled it a lot better. I talked to my friends more, and I avoided sleeping for 13 hours at a time under any circumstances.
The key to enjoying yourself is to not focus on how unproductive you feel or how bad daytime television can be. Just try to have as much fun as you can – see a movie, go to a concert, build a full-scale replica of the Death Star. Just do something!
Unfortunately, even if you can avoid being done in by the rampant boredom that takes place during this time, there's one other problem you'll have to deal with: grades.
Let's face it, it's pretty rough having to get our grades back right in the middle of the holidays. Have you ever spent an entire Christmas day wondering if your GPA was going to cost you your financial aid? Well, I have, and believe me, its not pretty.
Obviously, the easiest way to avoid worrying about this is to simply try as hard as you can during the semester by studying and taking strong notes. Unfortunately, it might be too late for that. So, what do you do if the situation is beyond the pale and you know your GPA is going to hit you like a ton of bricks?
Well, if the situation calls for it, I'd recommend doing some heavy drinking, but that's not for everyone. The key is to be honest. Tell your parents the situation now, so you can get it over with. Don't spend two or three weeks in denial just because you don't want to deal with the situation.
If you are honest and forthright about your grades, your parents might still be angry, but at the very least they'll respect you a lot more. Also, they know how hard college is, and they might be more sympathetic than you think.
Another positive: your grades might better than you think, and if you set the expectations low from the start, you could be in for a very pleasant surprise.
There are a lot of things that can make a winter break a tough time, but if you can avoid the boredom and not think about grades too much, it's more than possible to live these next four weeks to the fullest.
E-mail: john.hugar@ubspectrum.com
