What actually happens in semester breaks

Semester breaks are like New Year's resolutions - you always keep high expectations of them working out as planned knowing very well that it almost always ends in disappointment.

The last few days of classes often start off with you daydreaming about that much needed getaway, planning out day-to-day adventures in your mind. It is at the time of these trips that inconveniences ever so conveniently swoop in to result in the cancellation of your plans *cough*chikunguniya*cough*. 

Now, to soothe your wanderlust, you find yourself staring at the TV screen, watching travel channels showing off the wondrous beauty of places you would've otherwise been visiting at that very instant. Hence, you're left with a sense of profound sadness and thoughts of what ifs.

Next comes the mainstream "I'm going to learn something new this vacation" expectation. You end the semester with the realisation of your several shortcomings and attain a newfound motivation to improve in those areas. These short-lived motivational episodes fade away faster than one hit wonders in the 90s. That piano lesson you always wanted to take or those Photoshop tutorials you wanted to watch on YouTube, almost never work out. Soon you find the new semester knocking at your doorstep, with your skills remaining the same, leaving yourself with regretful should haves.

Speaking of regrets: weight loss. Semester breaks or any form of vacation for that matter, is often picked out as that time of the year when you promise yourself you'll work on getting rid of some of that body fat and trim up your "food baby" once and for all. However, when the time finally arrives, the "I'll start from tomorrow" becomes part of your altered routine. In most cases, you end up in your couch all day, munching on any form of food you find while staring at the TV screen with a guilty conscience. Other times, you simply fall into this endless loop of eat-sleep-repeat cycle that you seem unable to get out of.

Although watching TV is supposed to be the easy part, it often secures a place in your "failed attempts of trying new things" list. This is a result of our slight inclination towards monotony, or at least that's the case for me. Often times you make a list of new shows and movies you'd check off your watch list during vacations but end up binge-watching familiar ones like Friends for the umpteenth time. I'm not entirely against this given that I have been guilty of it several times in the past. 

Safe to say, semester breaks are simply a getaway to a string of long weekends coupled with the catalytic ability to unleash your rather lazy self, allowing it to take charge. At this time, everyday is an opposite Thursday where your will to be more productive is inversely proportional to your weight gain, with the latter increasing with lightning speed as days progress. However, if you succeed in recovering just in time before the new academic session starts, you'll be just fine.

Veronica Gomes is a devout Coldplayer and Sherlockian who is convinced her dog has secret pet parties at her place when she's not around. Email her at [email protected]