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Spring break is almost here, and everyone is excited to enjoy a week of relaxation and fun! Some of us will be traveling while others are staying local, but regardless of your plans, this article will provide tips and ideas for how to make the most of your well-deserved time off!

Travel Tips

Although the destination is always worth it, traveling can be hectic and stressful, especially during a busy season like spring break. Here are a few tips to help make your travels more pleasant:

• Create a list of everything you need to pack in advance. This will give you time to make sure that you have all the necessary items and prevent you from forgetting anything important.
• To maximize the amount of space in your suitcase, store smaller items in shoes or socks that you are packing. Additionally, rolling your clothes instead of folding them will save you space. If you can, wear your bulkiest items like a sweatshirt or jacket so that you do not need to pack them.
• If you have to park at the airport, you might forget where you parked once you arrive back home. Make sure to take a picture of your car’s location, so you can refer back to it when you get home from your trip.
• Always bring an empty water bottle with you to the airport. This way, when you get through security, you can fill it up for free!
• Spring break is one of the year’s busiest travel times, so be sure to arrive at the airport early to create buffer time for long lines.
• Spring break also falls right after flu season, which makes it a good idea to travel with hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes to prevent sickness. On the plane, I recommend wiping down your seat and tray table.
• If you find yourself bored while heading back from your trip, make a montage on your phone of all the fun photos and videos you took. You can add music in the background and keep it as a digital scrapbook to remember your vacation.
• Try to remind yourself to be patient and that everything will work out in the end, even if stressful situations arise.

Ideas and Activities

If you are not going out of town for break, you might want some activities to do. When you go from a crazy and busy school schedule to a calm week off, you may not know what to do with all of your free time! If you find yourself bored or in need of things to do, here are some ideas:

• Do you want to keep productive over break? If so, spring-cleaning is the perfect activity for you. Organize your room, clean out things you do not use anymore, go through your clothes and donate belongings that you are through with. This will keep you feeling busy, productive, and allow you to remove unnecessary clutter.
• Another fun thing to do over break is to go shopping for a new spring wardrobe. Especially if you decide to clean out your closet, you will want to get some new clothes for the warmer weather. You could even go with friends and pick out outfits for each other to try on. Who knows, maybe they will pick something out that you love but never would have chosen on your own!
• Take up a hobby you have wanted to try but have had no spare time to do during the school year. This could be cooking, baking, reading, arts and crafts, or even a sport!
• Enjoy the outdoors! Before the oppressive heat of summer arrives, soak up the weather while the temperatures are ideal! Go for a bike ride, practice photography, have a picnic at the park, or take walks on nature trails with your friends.
• Make something new! You could try out a new dessert recipe or make a meal for your family. Another fun thing to make is a creative project like a time capsule or photo collage. You could even browse around at a craft store and see if anything looks fun or inspiring to try making.
• Volunteer or do other random acts of kindness! Talk to your friends and try to find somewhere to volunteer together over break, or do something helpful for people you know! Doing nice things for others will brighten someone’s day while making you feel good at the same time.

No matter what your plans are for the break, be sure to relax, and make the most of your time because it will be over in the blink of an eye. Stay safe, have fun, and remember that afterwards there’s only one more quarter until summer! Enjoy your break!