FOMO, grocery shopping and Netflix binging: Our 2019 spring break bucket list

Finally, spring break is just days away. We all have been waiting patiently, working our way through midterms and bone-chilling weather just for the chance to have five days off class. Though the stereotype for college students is to have a wild time in Miami or Mexico during this break, many of us are stuck here in the north, with homework and snow. For those of us staying in Pittsburgh or heading back home for the week, here are some ideas to make this spring break worthwhile.

Watch something from The Pitt News Weekend Watchlist

Throughout this spring semester, The Pitt News staff has had a great deal of fun pulling together our favorite films and television shows from popular streaming services. We have published five watchlists so far and will have another one ready specifically for spring break. Make sure to get a head start on your own spring break watch list before we drop our list of the best shows and movies.

Forget what day of the week it is

Without classes and club meetings to provide a concept of time, spring break can feel like a liminal space. Get excited for seven days of asking yourself, “Is it Monday? Oh my god, it’s already Wednesday.”

Time during spring break moves without our permission, and it will seem so long until suddenly it’s Saturday and nobody told you. The best part is, you’ll probably still be confused when you get back to school.

Work at your summer job

Spring break is an excellent time to make some extra money for the rest of the semester. There is nothing quite as refreshing as returning to your part-time job from last summer and having a bunch of 16-year-olds you’ve never met before wondering who on earth you are.

Enjoy the feeling of being a mysterious stranger passing through, and tell the age-old tale of “you’re not supposed to do it this way, but this is what I do.” Feel the pride that comes from being loyal to this job, even though your boss keeps getting your name wrong. This, too, shall pass.

Ignoring your FOMO when you see all your friends on tropical vacations on Instagram

Many of us do not have the time, money or organization skills to plan a spring break vacation, but we’re still going to wish that we did. That random girl from your floor in your first year will be posting bikini pictures from a luxurious vacation, and though it will be difficult, you must look away.

When you get home from walking your dog in the snow, resist the urge to stalk Rachel from Holland Hall floor 10 and her glamorous trip to Europe, and be thankful that you get to spend quality time with your family for free — even if her Instagram story is full of shots from her tour of a literal castle. Maybe next year?

Hang out in your hometown and feel really old

It happens like this: you’re heading to your local Walmart to get some cheap groceries that you can drive back to school with. You’re picking up some cases of cucumber lemon La Croix when suddenly one of your high school teachers appears. What do you do?

Obviously this is a little exciting, but when she tells you she’s retired, you don’t know how to deal. Has it really been that long? You must face that your youth is fleeting and life as you knew it isn’t the same. You complain about the weather instead.

Lament the fact that it’s supposed to be spring but it’s still freezing and snowing

Speaking of the weather, what sort of sorry excuse for spring is this? Now is the time to bring home your parka and stay inside — possibly wearing it inside your house because the windows are drafty and it’s 13 degrees outside.

A great deal of us will be shoveling snow and scraping our windshields this spring break, and it will be deeply, deeply upsetting. Surely, we are due for one random 60-degree day in there sometime soon. It might be too much to hope for.

Write a paper because the world is cruel

There is no rest for the wicked, and Pitt professors think the entire student body is evil. It may feel appropriate to do nothing and recharge for finals week, but you have a philosophy paper due the week you get back, so it’s time to start doing the reading you never did!

While it is nice to have some time to play catch-up, it would be even nicer to be able to take a deep breath for the first time since January. But alas, the grind never stops.