By the time you read this, you may be on a plane, returning home. You may be sitting in your dorm room, taking a break from packing. Or maybe you’re standing in GW by your mailbox during Friday lunch, and you still have a few hours until freedom. Wherever you may be, congratulations. You’ve survived until Thanksgiving break, and this is a feat of endurance that, while expected of us, is nonetheless impressive. It feels like this term has lasted an eternity. New students, remember the first days of school, the Blue Keys cheering on the street corner? Even Non Sibi Day, Grasshopper Night and Quidditch seem like they happened ages ago. In the meantime, we’ve been buried under a mountain of work and college stress. We are also emotionally exhausted from dealing with everything from the tensions that have arisen over the drug busts on campus to light-hearted teenage Sadie drama. Wellness Week was a nice respite for some, but somehow Thanksgiving still can’t come quickly enough. Before we get too self-satisfied and nostalgic about the grueling term behind us, let’s not forget that there are still two weeks to go when we return. Use Thanksgiving break to recover, but consider trying to get ahead so that Ultimate Week and Extended Period Week aren’t as stressful. So what should you do with this time that’s too long to be considered a quick break from classes, but not long enough to make us really miss campus? Juniors, your first week of finals is still ahead of you. We remember making Bio 100 study guides and Latin noun declension charts. But we also remember watching entire seasons of TV shows while slumbering on the couch. As Lowers, we relaxed, confident in our ability to survive our fourth finals week at Andover. Upper year brought harder coursework, and we had to deal with relatives interrogating us about college. Now we’re Seniors and looking forward to a week of neglecting college applications and writing term papers. Whether you choose to use this time to relax or study, it’s valuable. The ten days will fly by, so we recommend having a purpose. While watching nine hours of television a day, for example, may be a questionable choice, throw yourself into it whole-heartedly if that’s what you want. There are few things worse than arriving back on campus after a vacation and not remembering what you did while you were gone, so make sure you enjoy and take full advantage of this necessary break. This Editorial represents the views of The Phillipian Editorial Board CXXXIII.
