Getting Over Your Post-Vacation Woes

You’re well rested, well fed, possibly a little tanner if you went somewhere warm: you just got back from a vacation.

While Harvard might be considered a beacon of shining light in the academic world, in meteorological terms, Boston is pretty mediocre. It’s cold, wet, and the sun sets before you even start to mentally wake up. After spending my winter break abroad, further South, or in the warm sun of California, it can be hard to readjust to Cambridge life. So how can one overcome their post-vacation woes? If you posses the super-human ability to simply block something from your memory, then by all means use it. However, if you’re a mere mortal like us, you’ll have to resort to different mechanisms.

One option is to simply commit to far more academic and extracurricular commitments than you know is feasible. This technique, which is especially common amongst freshmen, is a surefire way to forget your vacation, and also make your life miserable. Having employed this strategy a number of times in the past, we at Flyby can confirm that this isn’t the way you want to do things.

Another slightly less painful way to get over your vacation is to do something fun. Yes, we know, it's a novel idea to do something "fun" that is not "productive." But maybe try to pick up a new skill like doing pottery, or read a book for fun, or go to one of Boston's many museums. Even listening to music and taking a walk down the Charles can help you readjust to Harvard life.

Or you could convince your parents to visit you at college (unfortunately, we at Flyby are #unloved and thus un-visited). It’s still early enough in the semester that you don’t really have too much work, so you’ll have time to hang out with them. Spending time with parents can be highly therapeutic and make home feel a little bit closer. Plus, they’ll wine and dine you.

Your last option, of course, is to take another vacation. Seriously. There are so many opportunities here to travel abroad (maybe even on Harvard’s dime). If you spend your entire semester anticipating your next vacation, you’ll surely get over your post-vacation woes.