I don’t know what everyone else is complaining about-I love Fall Break.

Sure, it’s annoying that it’s only one day. Yeah, it’s no different for people who don’t have class on Fridays anyway. But it is the principle of Fall Break that makes it so wonderful.

This week I have, in three days, three midterms, a quiz, two homework assignments and a composition due. But after Wednesday I have one class for the rest of the week and a beautiful, long weekend. It’s nearing the middle of the semester and everyone is swamped with work. Fall Break marks, more than anything, a psychological break for overworked students. Even if you don’t have class on Friday normally and have “Fall Break every week,” as is becoming the catch phrase of the moment, the knowledge that no one else around you has class either and you’re done with midterms has got to be a pretty liberating feeling.

Another frequent complaint about Fall Break is that it’s not long enough to really go anywhere. I’m not comparing it to spring break by any means, when hordes of college students in need of a stress relief migrate south for a week to party it up. There definitely isn’t enough time to take a trip like that during the three day weekend. But it wouldn’t be unheard of to take a road trip to a nearby city, like Chicago, for a couple days. Gather a group of your friends together, pile into a minivan or an SUV, and you’ve got yourself quite the party. It may not be a drunken fiesta in Mexico, but it would still be a nice escape from St. Louis and the Wash. U. bubble.

Some people, myself included, go home for Fall Break. This notion is often scoffed at due to the fact that Parents Weekend was just two weeks before, and going home so soon would be a parental overload. But I think that my parents and I worked out a better solution for this year: instead of them coming here for Parents Weekend, I’m going home for Fall Break. This is a much better deal in my opinion because, a) it’s a lot cheaper for me to fly home for $200 than for my parents and brother to drive the 9 hours it takes to get here from Minnesota and then pay for a hotel for four days; b) I don’t feel like I need to entertain them or that they’re invading my life here; and c) I need a break and would like to get away for a few days, and it’ll be nice to see my friends from home who are still around. So I’m skipping the one class I have on Thursday, flying out Wednesday night, and enjoying a nice long weekend far away from the stress of my Wash. U. life.

Obviously going home isn’t possible or desired for everyone. But it just goes to show that your Fall Break is what you make of it. Sure, it would be nice if we had more than one day of classes off. But just because it’s only a three-day weekend doesn’t mean it’s useless. Don’t hate your Fall Break-embrace it.

Anna is a sophomore in Arts & Sciences. She can be reached via email at [email protected]

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