Ah yes, the age-old question: What to do during the first break of the year. It's a strange, liminal period where lectures disappear, responsibilities feel like they temporarily evaporate, and you're left alone with your thoughts (scary). The opportunities are endless, so I’ve decided to break down a few popular options, alongside some personal recommendations after four years in this joint.
Hopefully, this will help to really make the most of your well-earned holiday period – even if it's only a week. Enjoy the peace before the looming threat of exams begins to slowly emerge from behind your mouldy chest of drawers, like a sleep paralysis demon in a puffer jacket.
Option 1: Return Home (Journey of the Prodigal Scarfie)
The banker. The one that simply cannot fail. A tried-and-tested classic.
Not only does this eliminate your weekly grocery bill (a spiritual relief as much as a financial one), it also allows a triumphant return to your humble hometown. You can proudly bask in the glory at the dinner table, while you tell your parents all about your “hectic” start to the semester.
Remember to emphasise the immeasurable workload of your Management papers and to use vague, but intense language. A personal favourite is “It’s going well, it's just… a lot of content” because no one knows what that means, but it sounds serious.
Picture it: the clear ringing of the town bells, and a faint trumpet fanfare, as you stroll into your local pub with an undeniable air of nonchalance. You've changed. You've grown. You now say stuff like “flat dynamics” and “in this political climate.” Man, stimulating the local economy never looked so good.
Once home, fully lean into your new lifestyle. Sleep in every day, scroll to your heart’s content, then wander to the kitchen in a leisurely fashion at midday before retreating to your room faster than Mum can ask you to paint the backyard fence. You deserve this break. You’ve been through a lot after all (five weeks of moderate inconvenience and one week of binge drinking).
On a more serious note, homesickness is so real. University can prove beyond overwhelming, and I’d definitely advocate to go and visit your family when you can! These opportunities become less and less as we get older, so make the most of it if that’s an option, the fam will definitely appreciate it a million times over.
It's a great chance to walk the dog, reconnect with mates from school and really strive to view life through a different lens. Flights will be expensive (they always are), but planning ahead helps. If not, a well-timed complaint to Mum can sometimes unlock emergency funding. Ideally, the attraction of having the ‘favourite kid’ home will work, after all it is time to remind the fam who the big dog is.
Option 2: Hold Down the Fort (Flat Sitter)
Dunedin without classes can’t be that bad… right?
For those unable (or unwilling) to return home, fear not – your ten days can still be blissfully enjoyed. In fact, there's something pretty elite about staying put.
First things first: make the most of the extra personal space around the flat. With flatmates gone you can let go of that fear of judgement for walking around half-naked at any time you please. Hell, let those dishes pile up, run that heater and visualise that one day you might even have your very own home – dreams are free after all.
Time itself can become a suggestion. Meals are optional, sleep is flexible and you are no longer bound by societal norms – this is truly what living on your own terms looks like.
But before taking a full descent into goblin mode, remember there is actually a lot to enjoy. Take a leisurely stroll through the Botans and touch some grass. Mum might be right – it does feel good to go for a walk and sit in the sun. Head into town and you may be surprised by the eateries and local shops worth browsing. Learn some local history at the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, then steal your flatmate’s idle car and head out to Port Chalmers for fish & chips with a view of the port.
It’s a refreshing chance to broaden your horizons just that little bit further than Pak’nSave and Leith Liquor, so take that pioneering leap. Be brave. You won’t be disappointed – Ōtepoti is actually kinda good without all the students.
Option 3: Prioritise ‘Wellness,’ + be kind to yourself! (New semester, new you?)
Now this is where things could get interesting. A new version of you could emerge, one that wakes up at 7am, drinks water, and gets ahead on assignments. This could be your comeback arc. It’s never too late to decide that we’re so back.
With an abundance of library seats and UniPol space, why not keep the hustle going? Set those alarms and open those text books sitting on the corner of your desk beneath the mouldy coffee cup collection. Or at the very least get swiping on Tinder. That guy who sits next to you in your lab? He’s not going to ask himself out.
If your brain is toasted, try a new hobby. You’d be surprised how engaging a good old-fashioned book can be. There’s a book on pretty much everything, and even half an hour daily can make a big difference, so have a look through the shelves next time you’re meandering through Central. Plus, who doesn’t love an intellectual? It’s your own Notting Hill moment, just waiting to happen. Fortune favours the brave.
Get that morning sunshine (yes). Align that circadian rhythm (awesome). But, don’t fall into the trap of solely defining your own success in terms of productivity. We are all enough just being who we are! You actually don’t need to climb Mount Cargill and attend every 5am run club, to be a great person. You’re already an awesome person (say it with me).
The first break of the year is a great opportunity to reflect on how you’ve been tracking, but don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for all the good stuff. It's incredibly easy to focus on how many times you have ordered takeaways or skipped the gym, but it's even more important to celebrate those times you actually went to the spin class, or ate a vegetable that didn't come frozen and in a bag.
Immerse yourself with some nearby foliage. It’s been proven that even small doses of nature can generate improvements in both mood and cognition. At the very least, it will give you something to post on your story that isn't a thirst trap or meme about the current state of the world.
We often measure ourselves based on outward productivity, which couldn’t be further from a valid measure of character. Embrace the people around you, call a friend you haven’t heard from in a while, hold the door open for a stranger. Reflect on what fills your cup, and try and think about how we can take time for ourselves, when pressure and stress inevitably come knocking. The mid-semester break is a break after all.
Option 4: Work full time (Oh no)
Why make the most of your final months of freedom from the real world, when you can get ahead of the curve? How are those Linkedin connections looking? Take this brief interlude to pick up some short-term work from Student Job Search or a questionable Facebook listing. Flick the boss from your summer job, with the same fiery passion and enthusiasm that you try to hide when your girlfriend fires up Gossip Girl on her MacBook. We’re not here to fuck spiders, after all.
On a serious note, this is probably a very sensible call. Every dollar saved counts, and it feels good to know you’re contributing to your future. Have a look and see what’s out there, you may be able to finish your week celebrating the hard-earned fruits of your labour. Then you can tell all your (non-uni) mates that they’re making an awfully big deal out of nothing, and that the workforce isn’t that bad anyway. “If I was earning $900 a week since high-school I’d have saved so much”– yeah right. Unfortunately, the Studylink monster is lurking just around the corner from graduation, so why not get a headstart! Let’s prove those aggressive savings habits!
Option 5: Get on the Beers? (A cultural obligation)
Last, but certainly not least. No classes to worry about. No deadlines on the horizon. Just you, your friends and a series of decisions that will make sense at the time.
Get everyone around, enjoy the sunshine, pull that red card you’ve been stewing on for months, or go full Project X on the flat. Or someone else’s.
At some point, someone will probably say: “should we maybe chill?” Ignore them, they lack the vision of the mid-sem bender.
Alternatively, head along to Forsyth Barr to watch the Highlanders put on a clinic against the Brumbies. It's our year. It always is.
Allow yourself a rare foray into Otago heritage, visualising that you’re crammed into the Carisbrook terraces, a complete immersion into true Scarfie history. Submerge yourself within the experience, discuss Lucas Casey’s inevitable rise to a Black Jersey. Convince your flatmate to streak. They’re athletic enough – they might even make it past security.
Mindful Conclusions
Eventually, the break ends. It always does. There is no avoiding it. People have tried, but they usually end up with no degree.
The goal isn’t to perfectly optimise your time – it’s to do something that makes it feel like you actually did something. Don’t just spend the entire break doom scrolling in bed. In a world designed to keep your attention span in a chokehold, being even slightly intentional with your time is a win. When we are present and aware of our actions, it becomes easier to determine what is and isn’t worth our time. Embrace your hauora, get out there and maybe save the scrolling for when you have study to do. Remember to be kind to each other, and of equal importance, be kind to yourselves.
