Stuck on What to Do Over Break? Here Are a Few Options!
Written by: Saad Jawad, Pre-Health Peer Advisor
We’ve all been there. The semester ends, the holidays begin – we take a break, relax. We enjoy having nothing to do… until the one-week mark. At that point, we’re bored out of our minds, looking for something to fill our time. I want to make sure you don’t have that problem this year. Below, I’ve listed out some options for things you can do over winter break. Whether you’re a first-year student or are graduating in the spring, this list is bound to have something that will benefit your pre-health journey! They’ll still leave you with opportunity to relax and enjoy the holiday, but will also occupy just enough time so you don’t get bored. To me, they’re the sweet spot of holiday break activities.
- Shadow a (different) health professional
- If you’ve already begun your shadowing/clinical hours, take this month to branch out
and shadow a different professional at a different location. You’d be surprised just
how differently each health professional works, even though on paper they might be
doing the same thing. For anyone who is still early on their journey, holiday break
is a great time to start shadowing! You’re free to shadow as little or as much as
you please, which makes this a great activity to schedule around any other plans you
may have!
- If you’ve already begun your shadowing/clinical hours, take this month to branch out
and shadow a different professional at a different location. You’d be surprised just
how differently each health professional works, even though on paper they might be
doing the same thing. For anyone who is still early on their journey, holiday break
is a great time to start shadowing! You’re free to shadow as little or as much as
you please, which makes this a great activity to schedule around any other plans you
may have!
- Volunteer
- Volunteering is a crucial part of any professional health school application. It demonstrates
your commitment to helping others and serving those around you. Assuming you have
a bit of time on your hands, winter break presents a great opportunity to get involved!
Especially around the holiday time, many organizations put together events for the
community and will likely need extra hands on deck! Remember, your volunteering doesn’t
need to be health-related. You can do anything which sparks your interest – from working
a of couple hours at a soup kitchen, to helping at a local childhood center (these
are just a couple of examples). Volunteering is a great way to display to programs
the causes you personally are passionate about!
- Volunteering is a crucial part of any professional health school application. It demonstrates
your commitment to helping others and serving those around you. Assuming you have
a bit of time on your hands, winter break presents a great opportunity to get involved!
Especially around the holiday time, many organizations put together events for the
community and will likely need extra hands on deck! Remember, your volunteering doesn’t
need to be health-related. You can do anything which sparks your interest – from working
a of couple hours at a soup kitchen, to helping at a local childhood center (these
are just a couple of examples). Volunteering is a great way to display to programs
the causes you personally are passionate about!
- Begin prepping for application season
- For those of us who are planning to apply to our respective programs this upcoming
spring, winter break is a great time to start thinking about all the pieces you need
to put your application together!
- Do you know who is going to write your letters of recommendation? If so, have you reached out to them?
- How about your personal statement? Do you have an idea of what you’re going to write about? (most students write multiple drafts before they get to one they’re happy with!)
- How about your extracurriculars? How will you tie them into your story as a pre-health student?
- Have you thought about which schools you are going to apply to? Checked to make sure you have the pre-requisites completed for all of them?
- I don’t bring these points up to scare or worry you, I only do so in hopes that you
don’t get to application season rushing to get all of these things done!
- For those of us who are planning to apply to our respective programs this upcoming
spring, winter break is a great time to start thinking about all the pieces you need
to put your application together!
- Make a plan for spring semester
- When I say make a plan, I don’t mean a 5-page agenda for each week of the semester.
A plan simply means thinking about a couple of goals you want to achieve, either related
or unrelated to academics. Maybe you want to rack up your volunteering hours, or start
your own club. For some people, their plan includes personal goals, such as going
to the gym, or waking up earlier. All I’m encouraging you to do is think about a couple
of things you’d like to accomplish and keep them in mind as we come back from break.
- When I say make a plan, I don’t mean a 5-page agenda for each week of the semester.
A plan simply means thinking about a couple of goals you want to achieve, either related
or unrelated to academics. Maybe you want to rack up your volunteering hours, or start
your own club. For some people, their plan includes personal goals, such as going
to the gym, or waking up earlier. All I’m encouraging you to do is think about a couple
of things you’d like to accomplish and keep them in mind as we come back from break.
- Take time for yourself
- This is arguably the most important activity on this list. It’s called winter break for a reason. Make sure you are leaving enough time to relax and not worry about school, work, or anything else. The last thing you want is jumping into the next semester and feeling burnt out after a couple weeks. Sit down, relax, and reset. If it snows, build a snowman. I promise you’re never too old to build a snowman.
I hope you can add at least one activity from this list to your winter break schedule. Although I only listed a handful of options, there are endless possibilities for what you can do during your spare time! I wish everyone a happy, restful, and fun holiday break!
