If you go to school in the city, like I do, or even if your school life is generally more bustling than your home life, heading to the suburbs for winter break can be tough. I was stir crazy within an hour of arriving home! So if you're anything like me, you'll find this list useful:
Ideas to Beat Winter Break Boredom
- Clean up your digital clutter
- Go through old emails, photos, screenshots, messages, etc. I've had a lot of phone trouble within the last few years, so I was always emailing myself photos and videos that I didn't want to lose when I switched phones. So going through my emails resulted in a 3-hour-long trip down memory lane. It's not only an effective time-killer, but a fulfilling one; I saw photos and videos that I had forgotten about, which reminded me of a lot of little moments in my life that had slipped past my consciousness. Put on your favorite Pandora or Spotify station and give yourself a blast from the past that will also make you feel productive!
- Make something from nothing
- Unleash your inner artist! Channel your boredom into creative energy and make whatever your heart desires. Draw, color, write a song. Dig out your modeling clay and connect with your inner child. Look up origami instructions and fold away. Learn to knit (I watched like, five YouTube tutorials and couldn't figure it out.. but at least that took up a couple of hours of my day). Write a story and illustrate the cover. The sky's the limit when you acknowledge your creativity!
- Get a haircut
- Whether you're feeling daring and want to make a major change, or you just need a trim (they help keep your hair healthy), haircuts are one of those things that are easy to forget about when you're at school. So winter break is a perfect time for them; a few quick snips and you're ready to reinvent yourself in the new year! Just don't EVER try cutting your own hair... When I was younger I was obsessed with going back to school with a 'cool new look,' so I tried many more times than I should have to give myself trims, layers, and even bangs... Embarrassingly, Thanksgiving break my freshman year of college was the most recent time I've done this. Thankfully, I've sworn since then to leave it to the professionals.
- Read a book for... *GASP*... fun
- School gives reading a bad rep. Teachers always seem to doubt that we've actually done the reading they've assigned (and to be fair, they're usually kind of right), and the work they assign to make us prove that we have turns a lot of people off from books. I know people that haven't read a book for pleasure since elementary school. It turns out, though, that reading can have a profound effect on things like how you write and how you view the world. There's no time like winter break, when you don't have homework leering over you, to give reading a chance again.
- Figure yourself out
- At school, life can become a blur of events on your calendar and homework assignments in your planner. When you're jumping from one thing to another, it's difficult to take time to get in touch with your own emotions and desires. Winter break is a great time to think about your goals and feelings- and not in an "oh shit, what am I going to DO with my life?!" way. Ask yourself the types of things you would want to know about someone you're dating: "What is my dream job?", "If I could pick any city in the world to live in, where would it be?", "What's my favorite breed of dog?", "What's my favorite thing about myself?" In fact, it sounds hella cheesy, but this winter break, date yourself. Get in touch with what you need to stay physically and emotionally healthy.
Of course, winter break is also a time to reunite with your family and home friends, but hopefully this list will help with those windows of time where you have no clue what to do!
Happy Holidays :)
