Spring break seems to be made especially for catching up. This past week at home has given me plenty of time to catch up with my family, catch up on sleep, catch up with my reading, and catch up with eating junk food. (I still haven’t had enough time to catch up on any TV shows.) Yesterday, I went out to do some studying at a local coffee shop, where I ran into a former English teacher of mine from high school. We caught up too.
Even if it’s not the most exciting week of my life, I do welcome the semesterly opportunity to get off campus for an extended period of time. As Yitka has been commenting recently, it’s not always that easy to get away from Oberlin, even though Cleveland is only half an hour away. It’s not really a matter of transportation—there are ways to get out of town easily and cheaply—but rather time. Fall and spring breaks are the necessary breathing point half-way through a semester that enables students to flee for a moment from whatever academic, work, or social responsibilities they have in Oberlin.
When it comes to breaks, I use them as time to relax and recharge, which means I tend to ignore any classwork I’ve brought along in my suitcase. That can’t be an entirely bad thing, right? If anything, it gives me more energy to complete everything at the last minute the Sunday evening right before classes resume. It’s just that I find it so much easier to concentrate when everyone around me is also doing homework. (At least, that’s what I tell myself to rationalize my current laziness.)
Aside from the various sorts of aforementioned “catching up” that I’ve been doing, I have gotten a couple of things done this week. Today, for example, I bought a pair of shoes. On Tuesday, I put the finishing touches on a composition for horn and clarinet. I’ve also walked the dog three times (once in the rain) and plan on doing laundry. Then there’s also this post. Not bad for a week’s work…
