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As first semester comes to a close, every Collegiette has winter break as a buffer between a stressful round of finals and the start of a new course load. Tired as you may be, this roughly four-week long break shouldn’t be treated as a period of winter hibernation! This year, make sure you make the most of your winter break with a little help from Her Campus.
1.   Decompress: After a semester of long hours in Tisch, endless trips to the Rez for a quick caffeine fix, and Monday night classes that don’t get out until nine, there is no denying that we all deserve a rendez-vous with sleep. When you are home for the holidays, try to get your sleep schedule back on tack. That means a full eight hours of curling up with a pillow each night instead of with an economics book.
2.   Get in Shape: As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, motivation to make the trek to Cousens seems to plummet. Add a research paper or two into the mix, and the gym may become a distant memory. You can almost guarantee that, come January, our beautiful new gym will be overflowing with students who have made New Year’s resolutions to exercise more. Sign up for a one-month membership or research student deals at your local gym to get a head start a few weeks before January!
3.   Forget Dewick: One of the best parts of being home from college is home-cooked meals, your favorite local restaurants, and a fully stocked fridge and pantry. This means fresh fruit and veggies, sushi night with Dad (for which he pays!), and having your favorite meal cooking on the stove. Cherish it, Jumbos, because soon enough you will be waiting in line for pizza at Dewick, and making late night runs to Jumbo Express.
4.   Bond: Whether it’s Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or you just a random day at during break, make sure you get plenty of face time with family and friends. (No, not the WiFi-compatible iPhone version, but real, live, in-person quality time). While at school, you go for months at a time without seeing your friends or family, so enjoy sharing your favorite activities with your favorite people while you’re home. Go to a movie with your parents, stay up all night laughing in your best friend’s basement, or catch up on college life with your former teammates. Spend as much time as possible with your friends and family – before you know it, you will be confined to the iPhone version of FaceTime once again.
5.   Start the Internship Hunt: It’s scary to think about, but second semester will go by just as quickly as first semester did, and soon you’ll have to figure out what you are going to do this summer. Do yourself a huge favor and avoid late-spring stress and panic by getting a head start on your internship hunt. Take time over break to figure out where you want to be this summer, what type of work will supplement your education here at Tufts, and how to present yourself as a competitive candidate. You can make an appointment at the Career Center in Dowling Hall, or swing by during drop-in hours for great career advice! The bulk of the work, however, is up to you. Over break, you will have a hiatus from schoolwork and plenty of free time, so use it wisely! If you need a motivation boost, just imagine yourself in an ugly green apron scooping out ice cream for a group of pre-teens. An ideal summer? I think not.
Photos courtesy of:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com
http://www.the-weekend-traveler.com
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