Why College Students Need A Spring Break
It’s that time of the year, the time for Spring Break. Everyone has a big sigh of relief, because finally the time of pure relaxation before the end of the year chaos comes in full force. Spring Break is a time for everyone to take it easy for little bit, and not think about any of their upcoming responsibilities. It’s a chance for students to travel, relax, let loose, and not worry about everything else they are going to have to do in only a matter of months.
College can be a lot of long nights, early mornings, classes upon classes, stress, and no time to really take care of yourself. You are thrown into a ring of fire and never given a chance to really slow down and catch up. Sure, there are other breaks like Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. but those you generally go home and are pounded by family about school, and work, and relationships. Spring break is different, you can either travel somewhere delightful and different, or go home and kick back with your old friends.
Spring break is one week of your life, and it’s something that is often taken advantage of. Take the time to be lazy and just focus on you. If you take a moment and slow down, you can really take a chance to get your head back on right. Do what you want to do, not what you feel obligated to do. If you are given homework to do over spring break, try to get it done the first couple days or so. Our brains and bodies deserve a break.
College students are known for struggling for with mental health issues, and it’s something that we need to stop pushing off to the side. According to Abigail Hess with CNBC Make It, “Researchers from the World Health Organization, led by Columbia University Psychology Professor Randy P. Auerbach, surveyed nearly 14,000 first-year college students from eight countries (Australia, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Spain and the U.S.) and found that 35 percent struggled with a mental illness.” That means that 4,900 first year college students have a mental illness. Colleges have found ways to help students with these problems and have mental health resources throughout campuses.
Breaks are meant to help students and teachers refresh. Some would say it can affect motivation, but what effects motivation is the overly high standards that students are held to by everyone as they go to school. Spring Break doesn’t need to be looked as a time for students to lose focus, but it can be looked at as a time for students to refocus on themselves. Don’t let your students, kids, friends, etc. go through more serious issues because they aren’t ever taking the time to relax while they are on break.
Works Cited: Hess, Abigail. “35% Of College Freshmen Struggle with Mental Health-Here Are 4 Things You Can Do.” CNBC, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2018, www.cnbc.com/2018/10/04/4-ways-to-be-proactive-about-your-mental-health-in-college.html