While it is hard to believe with the Winter weather still upon us, Spring Break is here! Spring Break is a great time of the year, vitally important for recharging your batteries and catching up on those things that are lingering.

How will you spend your time? What is on your agenda for this period of time? You may be traveling – somewhere a ways away, or perhaps somewhere close. If you are going way, the location may be new for you, which can be quite exciting. And if it’s an old favorite, that’s great too. What’s important, particularly when traveling, is to maintain good awareness with safety with managing yourself in an unfamiliar setting (see the Personal Safety section in COMPASS). If you’re staying local, you may be getting caught up on some academics, a project, a paper (or two), or even with sleep. You may be getting ahead with some hours at work, or on some activity you’ve been putting off or just haven’t had the time to complete.

Some people associate “Spring Break” with “party”; if that’s the case for you, be particularly careful with alcohol or drugs, as many negative consequences (such as health, safety or legal issues) can occur with their abuse. You’ll want to take stock of the Drugs section as well as the Alcohol section within this COMPASS resource; these provide some useful and practical tips so you can make healthy choices.

Spring Break can also be a time to do some reflection. When you’re not all caught up in the day-to-day responsibilities and activities, you might take stock of how the semester is unfolding for you. Are things going the way you want? Are there areas where you can spend more, or less, time? What changes would be reasonable to make following the break, so that the entire semester is one about which you’re pleased and proud? Whatever your Spring Break plans might be - traveling, napping, hiking, working, studying, or other - take a bit of time to reflect on yourself and the semester, and then return to campus set for any adjustments you feel are appropriate!