During this last week, school was interrupted in a way that rarely happens, especially in Oklahoma. Tuesday and Wednesday saw classes being canceled due to an influx of ice, snow, and freezing weather, allowing students to have an opportunity to take a virtual day off. Naturally, this did not last forever and school resumed on Thursday, but for a fleeting 48 hours, students were able to take a break from their schoolwork (whether it was ill-advised or not), sleep in, and do whatever they wanted. In the busy lives of college students, these are precious times that everyone dreams of.
When talking to various students on campus, each one had their own answer as to what they did on their day off. SNU senior Daniel De Lige discusses how he had not “had much time to play this semester,” so he took the time to enjoy video games. However, he was also able to get a few things done in his personal life, such as doing taxes. Everyone on a college campus has so many responsibilities between their classes and their extracurricular activities that sometimes, taking a day to oneself can be just what they need. That is not to say that students are not productive during this time, as this gives them the opportunity to perform tasks that they may not have the opportunity to do or even think of on a normal day.
Even though this is a time of forgetting your responsibilities for a moment, there are still assignments to be done. When talking to another SNU senior, Riley Stark, she explains how she “took the time to relax at home and get some homework done,” especially thanks to the lack of classes and other responsibilities on those days. In addition to that, speaking from my own personal experience, I made sure to do a few assignments for the sake of my grades. Even though many students love to use this time for leisure, there are still plenty of others who make sure to get their work done for reasons that range from boredom to fear and anxiety of falling behind. In some ways, this ends up being a form of relaxation for those not in school; for example, finishing a paper early may be just as satisfying as turning on a movie or playing a video game on one’s days off. Snow days allow for a time of recovery to happen when everything else may be chaotic and busy.
When looking at what students did on their days off, it seemed to be a nice variety of activities. Some students took the time to relax and put time into their hobbies, while others worked on homework to pass the time. No matter what people decide to do on their day off, they often get a remarkable contentment out of it, and it acts as a great time to rest and recharge before starting the grind of school again.
Photo by: Jacob Mash