For me, winter break has always been about goal-setting. Without the pressure of class and with nothing to worry about but basketball, winter break is the ideal time to better myself.
My winter break goal list usually looks something like this:
1. Become fluent in French
2. Learn Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 in G minor
3. Be able to do a split in a handstand
4. Eliminate all refined sugars, carbs and fats from my diet
5. Become a saint
They’re perfectly attainable, reasonable goals. I have five weeks, after all. The first day of winter break I usually spend relaxing, watching streaming television and maybe showering if I feel up to it. This is my time to decompress. I shouldn’t be putting any pressure on myself just yet, I tell myself.
The second day is usually about the same, although I might get up to make a cup of coffee, and use that caffeine energy to brush my teeth. The third day, I take the massive step of putting on real clothes and venturing away from my bed to the great outdoors.
Then, because winter break is my vacation, I spend time with the friends, family, acquaintances, next door neighbors and anyone within earshot who wants to hear me complain about what a miserable semester I had and how I’m taking this time to decompress.
Usually when I return home it’s time for dinner, and I might open my copy of French Vogue that I purchased before school ended while I microwave a TV meal. A little Salisbury steak gravy might splash onto a picture of a waifish blonde model with that French pout in her lips. I’ll get it later, I tell myself as I start a new season of a show I’ve never heard of on Netflix.
My keyboard loses its dusty coating as I start using it as an extra dresser for clothes I don’t feel like washing during vacation. Sometimes I even plink out a little melody if my pants land on the keys the right way.
The next thing I know, school is three days away and I need to organize my syllabi, consider what books I actually want to purchase and get new notebooks and pens.
Winter break has been an excellent exercise in bettering myself, if you define bettering yourself as sleeping until your hunger forces you to get out of bed to make a sandwich. If you define bettering yourself as mastering the art of the post-practice marathon nap, then this break I succeeded. I push the mess of crap off my desk to find a post-it note to make a to-do list, and I find a yellowed scrap of paper with the words “Winter Break Goals” on top.
Oh well. I flip it over and start scribbling plans for the spring semester. At least I got a lot of rest this time around.
Simone’s column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at s.egwu@cavalierdaily.com.
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