So you want to do something spectacular for spring break? Cancun, here we come, right? How about not. I’m that broke college student who takes bananas from the dining hall with my limited meal plan, and slabs some peanut butter on them for later. So while I wish I could be out basking in the sun, spring break seems pretty bleak, but I promise, it really doesn’t have to!
Here’s how to stay positive during your stay-cation:
The first thing you have to do is remember how much you wanted spring break to begin two weeks ago when you were studying for exams and spending those long hours in Mugar on a Saturday night (oh yeah, crazy night, eh?)
So put it in your mind that Spring Break is going to be amazing no matter where you are! From New York to California to Miami, there are literally tons to do in your home city, but the first battle is remembering to be optimistic about everything. I swear, it’s what gets me through the year anyway, so I have a lot of practice with this!
Now, make a list of all the things you said you wish you had time for. There’s no more excuses girl, so you just have to go for it.
You wanted to read Game of Thrones or Fifty Shades, but you were stuck reading A Doll’s House for class? (Don’t worry, we won’t judge if you’ve read more than once how crazy Mr. Grey can get!)
And remember those people you’d hang out with before school took over your life? Oh yeah, those people called friends? Well, they want to hang out with you just as badly as you need some social interaction.
Another way to alter your experience is to pretend you’re a tourist in your own city. I’ve grown up and lived in Miami for over 16 years, and I still don’t know much about where I live! I make it a point to go exploring as if I were brand new to the area. I try to look at things from a different perspective and I always, always find out so many new cool things to do–cute indie cafes to revisit, and hot spots the cute guys “inhabit” (you’d think they’d come out of hiding sometimes!)
If the night life is great in your city, by all means, head downtown, grab a drink and go dancing! In the south, dancing is the one thing necessary to having a good time.
However, spring break isn’t just about having fun, but getting to do all the things you missed, especially on a “stay-cation.”
I absolutely love going to the park, sitting there for hours with Empire of the Sun streaming through my headphones and writing. If you want to try this out, just go sit on a bench, write about anything, and be entirely happy because for the first time in weeks, you don’t have to think about school or what needs to do for the next day. Nothing will be scheduled, everything will be spontaneous.
I always try to challenge myself one way or the other during a stay-cation, just to keep things, well, spontaneous. See, spontaneity is usually not my thing by any means, but for spring break, I have even decided to take the Yes Man approach and say ‘yes’ to every invite, party, lunch date, community service event, or movie night. It’s a little scary to not know what’s going to be thrown my way, but how much fun it would be to literally have no control over what will happen, since our whole life (during the school term) is run by a bunch of ‘no’s, I wanted a week to be filled with ‘yes’s. Yes!
If you’re not as willing to do something too impulsive, remember that some of the best joys come from the little things. Small things that we were able to do back home, but can’t in Boston, like drive a car, head to the movies or the mall in 10 minutes, have a full refrigerator at hand, catching up on the latest Girls episodes, visiting museums, seeing a local band in concert or going to long-term friends’ house parties. Things that seemed like no big deal, that was part of our everyday life, were the things we missed the most. Take advantage of that because you know you’ll begin to miss these things once you’re back in Boston.
Oh, and there’s your bed (thank God, I think I missed my bed more than anything).
The point is, staying at home may sound like the lamest way to spend your holiday, but it’s all in the mind. Turning what can seem like the longest week ever, can actually be a week full of fun new, and old, experiences solo or with the people you love doing the things so familiar to you. Sometimes the comforting food in the dining hall just isn’t enough, you have to go home to experience it.