What To Do When You Didn’t Pre-Plan Your Spring Break

I pride myself on being a Type A, planner-wielding person, but for whatever reason, planning extravagant vacations has never been something I excelled at, let alone even bother trying to do. But what if you didn’t pre-plan your spring break? With this as a character flaw, I went back to my childhood home for my first college Spring Break rather than doing it up with friends at Lake Havasu or Cabo.
With the break quickly approaching, chances are the pre-packaged destination trips where you and your three closest friends all drunkenly share a hotel room together in the sun are all booked up, and no one’s selling their ticket. (Or if they are that group of friends is definitely not the ones you want to spend even one night with. Eek.) And with college dorms shutting down for the break, you’re forced to go somewhere. And that somewhere is probably home. (You didn’t plan an easy one-click trip in January when the best deal was going on—why think that you’d book a trip to China a week before Easter?!)
Really, there’s no shame in taking an actual break on Spring Break! While some of you may use this time to catch up on the work that’s been piling up over the semester, other’s will disconnect. Here’s what you and your body will thank you for doing instead of getting sun burnt in a bikini because you were rolling and forgot to SPF up:

SLEEP
I think this is on every list I write for Dorm Essentials. I just love it so, and I know you do too. A beautiful, uninterrupted by roommates, deep REM sleep? Heavenly. Then getting it for a consecutive week? I could orgasm—but I won’t because I’ll be asleep. Good chances are you have some catching up to do for your body. Kudos if you have parents who let you sleep in, and for those who don’t try convincing them it’s because you work so hard at school balancing classes and extra curricular activities that you are absolutely exhausted. (Even if one of these great sleeps is because you are hung over and actually need it.) Which brings me to my next point:

SEE WHO’S AROUND FROM THE GOOD OLD DAYS
You can’t be the only kid back in town. See who’s around, social media has a fun way of showing you who’s on the next street over like it was a human version of Pokemon Go. Facebook events makes for a quick way to see if someone you knows interested in something nearby. Or you could always find out by thinking it’s a good idea to swipe through Tinder in your home town—yep, you’ll definitely see who’s around and on the hunt that way. Whether it be innocent hook up, or reconnecting with your best friend who you thought might be over you first semester (she’s not, she literally just lost her phone at her first party), might as well keep the bridges to connections you once cared about strong. Who knows, maybe that kid from that class in highschool was actually going to become one of your better friends over break.

QUALITY TIME WITH THE FAMILY
They’re excited to see you! And while you’ve lived with out rules for the past 8 weeks since the last break, you do get free meals—and they’re probably your favorite ones. Sure family can get under your skin with their usual asks, their different opinions on social justice issues, or how your little brother has ruined the bathroom you once shared, but know that they love you and have been existing with out your fun kick of energy. They are definitely looking to have you around to create more memories with and watch you grow as a young, “adult.” Air quotes because once again, you couldn’t even book a pre-packaged Spring Break?! Come on!