The Beauty of Having Nothing to Do

As I am sure most of you are probably aware, last week was spring break. As one of the few people who does not have a car on campus, it was nice to go home and finally leave Ohio Northern’s property for a little bit. 

I don’t know about you guys, but midterms really hit me hard this year. I felt like I had so many assignments due at the same time, and my involvement in extracurricular activities kept increasing. There didn't seem to be enough time in the day to get all of my work done, and I grew increasingly tired as the week progressed. While I was trying to eat healthy and get 7-8 hours of sleep, my body just wasn’t able to handle the stress and I got sick. I wasn’t feverish or anything, but I was visibly worn out, congested, and feeling plain icky. That being said, I started my break feeling pretty miserable. 

The good news was that I had an entire week of nothing on my Google Calendar. It was so nice to open my phone and see zero notifications for meetings I needed to be at, classes to attend, or events that were mandatory. I feel like the past few weeks of school, I've just been constantly on the go, and this was my chance to finally have a clear mind without the pressure of obligations weighing in. There were still a few assignments that I needed to get done for school, but other than that, I really had no other events going on that week. I wasn't traveling or attending any concerts or getting together with people.

Long story short, I didn't exactly do anything “fun” over break. I saw on social media that a lot of my friends were traveling and going south. At some points, that made me feel like I was missing out. I felt like I was almost wasting my spring break because I wasn't “doing” anything. However, after a bit of reflection, I began to realize that there's a beauty of having nothing to do. Because I had no stress on my mind and I didn't have an agenda packed full of things to do, I was able to really sit with my thoughts and reflect. I came to terms with the fact that it's okay to not have a packed agenda. It is okay to take a rest every once in a while and organize not only yourself, but your thoughts as well. Having that time to reflect can be the perfect refresh you need to jump back into the semester with an open mind and a healthy heart.

All in all, I hope that everybody enjoyed their spring break in a way that was joyful and healthy for them. Everybody has their own ways of celebrating spring break, but also know that it is okay to not have anything on the calendar and to enjoy life as it comes.

 See you next time,

 Evie