Make like a tree and get outta here!!

Fall break is the first real chance to relax or return home during the school year, and it can lead to some interesting moments. Some of our new writers comment on their experiences during their very first reading days below!

These past days marked my first encounter with the Krud, and though it stinks to be sick on vacation it was probably the best timing for the scourge of pestilence to strike. Luckily, my roommate went home and avoided experiencing my snuffling and wheezing around the dorm. I felt no shame in hauling myself to Peirce bleary-eyed and red-nosed, and I had no regrets about purchasing late-night bookstore ice cream to ‘soothe my throat.’ Treat.Yo. Self. Plus, I had no classes or commitments to keep me from cocooning in my pajamas and watching childhood movies (seriously, how good was The Aristocats?) A big highlight was my wonderful mother sending me a package of my warmer clothes and winter blankets from home, but even better than the fuzzy sweaters was the cardboard box which I proceeded to sit in for the better part of the afternoon whilst blasting Queen. So overall, I’d say it was a good time and a welcome break from pretending to be a quasi-adult.

“Vacancy” flashes in green and pink neon, illuminating the eastern broad of my face.  Wisps of ambient moisture rise from the grass–do their best to echo the spirits of the departed.  My cigarette, no more than halfway dissolved, seems heavy between my index and middle fingers; with each drag I draw closer to the earth as the gaseous mass is absorbed into my corpus.

This is Fall break.  Our lives are suspended for ninety-six hours of what can only be described as a “reading daze,” wherein we become unaware of our surroundings and concern ourselves with Netflix shows and forced trips to the market using packs of camel blues and nippled smart water as an excuse to get fresh air in our lungs before delving back into our various crags on campus.  The nights are long and the parties inconclusive, with no sign of the “bangers” which were as common and memorable as a pizza-rat in New York no more than a week prior.  Energy has left campus in the form of first-years, only spent-upperclassmen and nostalgia remain.  At least for another thirty-four hours…

Ah, Fall Break. While everyone was preparing me for a lonely two days of wandering the ghost town of a campus, I can’t deny that this actually didn’t sound that bad to me. Basically Fall Break came at a perfect time and successfully put a few speed bumps in the road to a nervous breakdown that I would’ve had otherwise. I slept a lot, started (and finished!) Silicon Valley, did some crafts, and only had about 2 social interactions. I can’t complain!

All I’ll say is that I went out Wednesday night and when I woke up on Thursday it was… well… 7 PM. And at 8 PM my friends and I all just started drinking again. Definitely starting to realize that “reading days” is kind of an ironic title for fall break.

I went back to Los Angeles for fall break and it was really weird to be going on a plane home for a trip. Usually I land in LAX after a trip and come home, but this time going home was the trip and that was really weird. After I got over that initial shock, being home was really nice. Having fresh fruit and veggies that weren’t just Peirce apples was amazing, and getting to sleep in my bed was heavenly. Except the first night I went to bed early due to the time change, and when my mom came in to kiss me goodnight, I shrieked because I thought I was in my dorm room and that there was someone breaking in. Other than that, I caught up on rest, unfortunately did a lot of reading and work for midterms, bought some winter clothes and hung out with my parents. It’s really weird that being home was a vacation, but I appreciated the break nonetheless. Gambier can get kind of small, and while getting to leave for a little bit was definitely refreshing, I’m excited to head back up the hill.

I kind of thought I’d be drunk all the time: day drunk, Peirce drunk, drunk while doing
homework, drunk while (and before) a bunch of parties… if there was one sober moment, I’d be doing Fall Break wrong. While there were a fair amount of drunk nights, there were also a decent amount of sober Netflix nights (and zero productive homework nights). Tonight (Saturday) is a drunk night, in case any of you were wondering (you probably weren’t). Also, I spent most of my time getting super excited for all the queer things happening on campus! Yay Pride weekend!!!