As the semester comes to a close, there is only one thing on everyone’s mind: winter break. Fourteen weeks of hard work and sleepless studying nights are finally over, and the holidays are around the corner.
Once the fall semester is history,that means the spring semester is just a month or so away. Similar to this semester, winter break will be over in the blink of an eye.
So, how do students and faculty utilize that beautiful break from classes? Is it a time for preparation or relaxation?
For adjunct communication professor, Kelly Harney-Furgason, winter break is more of a time to catch up instead of kicking back. Harney explained, “I’ll probably reread through a bunch of the information that’s been given to me for this class and see where I can expand on it.”
Harney continued to elaborate on how she will improve her classroom, “…perhaps add a little more in to fake news, since that needs to be more prevalent, look at what my students have said to me at the end of each semester… I ask the class what helped and what didn’t and then I try to adjust.”
On top of being a prepared professor, Harney will also take the time to focus on herself and her family. “I just basically try to get caught up on my own life, get caught up on my kid’s lives, make sure they’re on par with what they need to do get done,” she said.
Winter break is a great chance to get a head start for next semester, yet it is the perfect time to step back, relax, and spend time with loved ones as well. College can be draining, physically, mentally, emotionally; everyone needs a period of time to recharge and gain back the motivation to be even more driven than the semester prior.
Jack Rible, a sophomore communication student, said, “I’m probably just going to spend a lot of time with my beautiful girlfriend and just hangout and have a good time. Maybe I’ll do my school work… I don’t know…anything’s possible.”
Sophomore communication student, Hania Sarsar, has other plans for how she will spend her winter break. Sarsar said, “I’m looking forward to relaxing, sleeping in, going to New York, hanging out with my friends who are coming back from college.”
“When it’s close to January, I’ll start seeing what books I need and then start looking at the syllabi and then just become ready and see what my schedule is for next semester,” she continued.
Thinking about books, syllabi, and schedules may seem stressful; why think about next semester when this one is not even over? Although coming back to school means having homework, assignments, and papers, it also means coming back to all the amazing opportunities Monmouth has to offer.
It is exciting to look forward to a fresh start with different courses and fun club events. “I’m excited for the spring semester, I don’t like the cold weather but, each semester that we go back we learn a lot of new stuff, we see what we want to do in life, and I’m excited for HawkTV going into their new semester,” Sarsar said.
Something else students may look forward to is having a completely new class schedule. Rible said, “I have off on Mondays and one class on Fridays so I’m excited for the four-day weekend.”
The excitement for next semester, winter break, and the holidays are only a few of the things that can help people get through finals week.
Once finals are over, people may use the next month to catch up on work or catch up on Netflix, regardless, everyone deserve time for themselves after a semester’s worth of hard work and dedication.
