I don’t know about you, but I find my semester breaks unusually long. I mean, one to one and a half months long? That is practically half of another semester if you think about it. Maybe it is just my university doing this or maybe this is a national thing. Either way, I often find myself sitting at home scrolling endlessly through reels and wasting brain cells asking myself, what am I even doing with my life?

So this time, I decided I will not let this long break rot my brain. And if you are reading this, maybe you are thinking the same. Here is what I figured we can do: 

1. Get a job or volunteer somewhere 

Let’s be honest, we all want to be “experienced” before we even graduate. Employers and scholarships love it. Volunteering or part-time jobs are brilliant for that, even though they are hard to find in our country. 

But if you know where to look for them, there are tonnes of volunteering gigs floating around on Facebook groups, university clubs, youth-led organisations, LinkedIn, etc. You can go for virtual work-from-home volunteering or fieldwork, depending on what you like. 

These are often short-term commitments, meaning you can do it for just your break and not worry about it clashing with your classes later on. Plus, they actually help you build communication, teamwork, and time management. All that jargon we want to put in CVs.

2. Move your body

Most of the time semester breaks turn us into human potatoes. We start sleeping more, playing games, give all our time to screens and then the terrible posture, horrible sleep cycle, and all the bad things start spiralling.  

Our bodies deserve better than that. But no, we do not need to run off to a gym and get six packs. Just move. Stretch. Try some yoga from YouTube. Or get one of those free fitness apps that tell you which exercise to do after which. There is a famous saying, “Your body is a temple”; remember that.

3. Learn something new  

There is always something we have said we would learn someday. Semester breaks can be that someday because they give us just the right amount of time to get started. And thanks to the Internet,  there are thousands of free courses available. Coursera, edX, FutureLearn even YouTube. 

You can learn anything from Python to basic Korean before your next K-drama binge. You could even go a step further and take a professional course with a certificate and then post it on LinkedIn. 

4. Reconnect with your family

During the semesters, we often ignore the people closest to us. We keep our parents, siblings and grandparents in the background while we panic over exams and quizzes. So now is the time to just be with them. If you live away from home, go visit. And if you are already home, like me, stop being a guest in your own house. Talk to your parents. Help your mother in the kitchen, discuss politics with your father, and throw pillows at your sibling. No matter how much fun you have outside, family time will always be the best time of your life. 

5. Go out with friends 

Now that you have had your family time, it is time for friends and tours. We all say we will plan a “batch tour” or “a small trip” but never do. This is your sign to actually go. Pick a place like Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, or Sylhet – somewhere near, somewhere cheap; it does not matter. 

Plan the tour, budget it, coordinate dates and go. The best part is, you will actually be developing real-life skills while doing this like planning, budgeting and decision-making. So treat this not just as a holiday but also as a soft skill-building workshop with friends.

If nothing else works, just read a book. Not for class. Not for a quiz. Just read for yourself. Semester breaks are longer than necessary but it might not be such a bad thing if we just stop treating them like dead time. We can rest but also move, chill but grow; there is time for both. Just don’t let your brain dissolve into reels. 

Make it count.