Who says you can't have a good time on break unless you have a vacation?

It seems that most college students run off to distant spots of the globe, hoping to get away from the books for a week's worth of celebrating, merry making, and relaxing. It's a fantastic idea. At this time of year, everyone's ready for a break of some sort - to clear your head, refresh your spirits, wind down and gear up for the second half of the semester... and the rest of midterms. Sometimes it's even nice just to get caught up on the rest of life (reading for class, reading for pleasure, laundry, sleep, a regular eating schedule, the essentials). So the distant beach and commercial venues that beckon: come have a good time with friends, spend your money, sleep away the afternoon... seem like a great break.

Personally, I'd much rather drive the five hours down the interstate and chill out at home for the week. Yes, more than the vacation where you're almost expected to interact with lots of friends and people you've never met (classic example: Mardi Gras) and take advantage of everything you've spent good money to enjoy (taste the flavors, soak up the sights). No thank you, I want to sit down to a familiar meal provided with love and thought from my parents, enjoy a familiar couch cushion or bed or comforting embrace from my brother, and leisure about the house in my PJs as I catch up on local news and magazines from the past two months. When there's several days during the week where you're the only one at home for a few hours, you have the chance to reflect on your own thoughts for once, and not expected to perform under the pressure of the classroom, where the reflection is mostly on the professor's lecture or the textbook's teachings... rushed and constrained to say the least. Even better, the location is perfect for truly relaxing. For one thing, you're already familiar and comfortable with your settings, there's not much new to explore (that you don't figure out in the first day, which is just a part of adjusting to being home) and there's little reason to feel obligated to take full advantage of your surroundings. Well, with the exception of taking advantage of the home-cooked food, veg in front of the TV for the first time since Christmas, and our fun supply of construction paper and art supplies...

Don't think that I'm not a fan of an awesome vacation. But I just think there's some more opportune times to take a real 'vacation' and the middle of the semester is not one of them for me. I prefer to consider this an overstuffed weekend that allows your brain to just go into sleep mode for a few days and recharge. They don't call it 'break' for nothing! And I'm having a good break :-)