After months of exams, endless nights in the library and the same $3 dinner every night, winter break arrives just in the nick of time for most Clemson students. While the fall semester can be a glorious one filled with football games and fun nights out, both the irritating lack of sleep and frustration with unmotivated lab partners typically accompany the end of November and early December. Despite Thanksgiving break and its attempt to provide some sense of relief, the looming eye of finals can sometimes overshadow the few days students have to spend time with their friends and family. Luckily, winter break swoops in near mid-December to give these students a well-deserved, lengthy break from the lecture room that houses the class you hate the most and that one classmate that always has an opinion on a topic they really shouldn’t bring up at 8 a.m. Since winter break is full of great activities, there are certain things that you probably think about while putting a “Winter break countdown!” on your Instagram story. 

First and foremost, this month-long detachment from Clemson University gives you an opportunity to go home and see your family and old friends. While this may not be the case for some people, the overwhelming majority of Clemson students can take this time to visit their hometown and spend some time with those they love most. If you don’t find yourself in that majority, winter break still gives you some time to hang out with friends here in Clemson and appreciate one another. These few weeks are perfect for checking in on people that you love and letting them know just that. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so seeing these important people after a few months away can be the perfect remedy for a stressful semester. Winter break lets you witness those weird quirks that you have come to love in your family without the overarching presence of assignments and submission dates. 

Since you have time to visit home, the food in your life most likely improves after finals, thanks to winter break. The dinner your mom or dad always made when you lived at home hits different after you spend the semester eating the same chicken nuggets from the frozen aisle of Walmart. If you have zero skills in the cooking department, winter break gives you time to beg your parents or siblings to make dinner for a change, since you only know how to boil pasta and coat 98 cent noodles in parmesan. Also, the dog that you adore but can’t bear to take from its yard benefits from winter break as well. Instead of asking your mom to put the dog on FaceTime, you can finally use that weird, high pitched voice we all use to love your dog in person for more than a single weekend. Could hard-working students ask for anything more? 

Yes, we could. Once you finish that last final, all you want to do is spend a few days recovering from every academic hit that fall semester has thrown at you; winter break is here to grant that wish. Even if you work over break and are obligated to attend to customers looking for the perfect gift, the absence of classes will give you an opportunity to do nothing at least once or twice. Doing absolutely nothing is slightly overlooked nowadays, but sometimes you just need a time to sit in bed and binge Ghost Adventures or mindlessly scroll through social media. Essay deadlines, who? Walking across campus while going through Quizlet on your phone, who? Thankfully, mid-December gives students the opportunity to do what everyone needs to do at some point: nothing. 

So thanks, winter break, for always saving us right when we need you. Please just hurry.