Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FSU chapter.

I am just on the cusp of my first spring break while attending Florida State University. Midterm season has quickly crept up on my fellow students and me. All projects, essays and tests have been packed into this final week before sweet, sweet stress relief and relaxation. In the meantime, a daunting cursor blinks on the blank white page in front of me. Color-coordinated class assignments flood my Canvas calendar in the next tab over. As I stare at them, thoughts of back home distract me.

At home right now, in Baltimore, Maryland, it’s 40 degrees. I imagine myself stepping off my landed plane and feeling an immediate wind chill. I picture my father meeting me at the baggage claim, and me rushing towards him to hug for the first time in two months. I feel the excitement as I near closer to home on my drive back from the airport. Even though there’s not much to do in Maryland for a typical college spring break, my family, friends and cats are here, so I’m glad to be back.

The sound of lo-fi hip-hop beats brings me back to my work. I have 212 words to go in my essay, but not one comes to mind. The space around me is designed to inspire creativity, but instead, it gets me sidetracked. There’s so much catching my eye.

I spot an episode of The Office playing to my left on a flat-screen TV. Giant yellow, blue and white Lego blocks surround my nook of the study space. There’s a college tour being given simultaneously, as prospective students look around in awe of the colorful room and turn to their parents to gush about it loudly. The couch I’m sitting on fits my body perfectly, and I want to melt into it. 

But I can’t. I need to relieve myself of all distractions and get back to work. I get up to find a quiet place to settle and put my phone and laptop on “do not disturb.” I am finally able to finish my English assignment—that’s one less thing on my plate before the break.

To-do lists often motivate me to keep working, so I whip out my planner. As I gaze at March, it looks a bit colorless and bland, so I bring out the highlighters next. I begin to doodle. I cover the calendar spread with flowers, clouds and butterflies. So much better. What’s the next thing I have to do?

A math quiz is due this Friday. This reminds me of high school. In my freshmen year, I had a math teacher who quit halfway through the year. I can’t blame him though; my class liked to joke around with him a lot. One time, we created a bingo board of his most-used catchphrases and checked them off as he said them in class. The board contained baseball references and weird exclamations he used to make; nothing math-related, though. He didn’t like that very much. I didn’t learn a lot about Algebra II that year.

These distractions persist, and I decide to save my math work for tomorrow. In fact, I’ve done enough for the day. I’ll continue at the same time tomorrow. T-2 days until break!

Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest!

Isabella is a senior at Florida State University pursuing a dual degree in Media/Communication Studies and English (Editing, Writing, and Media). She currently serves as the Vice President of the HCFSU chapter, and has previously served as the Head Culture Editor, where her responsibilities included editing, overseeing, and pitching ideas for all articles categorized as Culture topics within the chapter. In the past, Isabella interned with Girls' Life Magazine, where she explored her passion for writing and creating digital content. Isabella aspires to someday work in the journalism industry. In her free time, Isabella loves to sing, dance, listen to good music, hang out with her friends, and watch TV shows and movies!