Normally, after a holiday break I feel like I need another two or three day break so I can mentally prepare to return to the classes, assignments and responsibilities waiting for me on campus.

But this time, I made my Thanksgiving break exactly what is meant to be: a break.

My backpack remained zipped, my Netflix queue was stocked and my pajamas stayed on until I received a call or text message from one of my friends or family members with a plan for the day.

The whole week, I did not have a single nightmare about falling behind or failing an assignment. The whole week, I did not feel like I was procrastinating or avoiding the long checklist tucked away in my planner.

The whole week, I felt relaxed.

We all deserve to have this feeling and we all deserve to fully indulge in it.

Going to school, going to work and just simply being present are not easy things to do day after day.

Exhaustion eventually outweighs motivation and there is only one-way to recharge and escape the stressful humdrum of our lives as college students: a vacation.

Vacations are not limited to the weeks marked on our academic calendars or tropical destinations on plane tickets. You can find little escapes every day.

You can find them in the library or the 24-hour lounge while you are trying to make up for the time you lost procrastinating by spending time creating a new playlist to jam to while you cram.

You can find them by taking the longer route to class and inviting the sun to kiss your skin or the wind to graze your cheeks.

You can find them by going to bed early, waking up at the same time as the sun and sharing the quiet morning with a cup of coffee or mug of tea.

With the last three weeks of this semester taunting us, a simple, sweet escape will be the only thing that will prevent the pressure from completely boiling over and drowning our last remaining efforts to keep it together.

We are all trying to do our best to pass our classes and meet the expectations that have been set by our peers and ourselves.

In order to do this and survive, it is necessary to unwind.

The best first step for any workaholic or any student scraping the very last bit of motivation at the bottom of the barrel is to take a break.

Find your escape, set aside a small window of time and give yourself some slack.

Carole Hodorowicz is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or cdhodorowicz@eiu.edu.