By Zac Ladouceur, Class of 2020
We hope that your students are slowly finding their way back home to you. Hopefully, in the midst of this extreme weather everyone is traveling as safely as possible. We’re happy students are leaving for Break, but we want them to come back in one piece!
From our Facebook page, I have seen both Freshman and Senior year parents and support systems express their concerns about their students deciding not to come home for Spring Break and possibly making other travel plans with friends. I want to offer some advice, or maybe some much need assurance that it is okay that your student is not coming home for their break! It’s okay! It is not their way of saying they don’t like you anymore or don’t want to come home to see you. The college experience is a long winding adventure, and every student goes through it differently. Part of that process sometimes includes taking last minute trips to California or Europe with their roommates or friends. Albeit not every instance is always that grandiose or extreme, but it’s things like this that can serve as pivotal moments for some students in their journey of self-discovery, and in finding their place in the world.
This by no means is the end of having your student home on their Spring, Summer, or Winter breaks. They still love you, they still want to come home, and they will. Letting them have these opportunities to explore the world, and themselves is of important because they may not get those 
chances once they are done with school. These moments, however difficult, may strengthen your relationship with your student. Plus, you can always guilt them into getting you a T-Shirt from wherever they visit!
Whether this is the first “College Spring Break” experience your student is getting to have, or possibly their last, we hope that it is filled with as much fun or relaxation that your students wish for. Spring Break is a time to decompress from the often chaotic and busy atmosphere that occurs at Emerson, especially in the weeks leading up to this one. So if your student is coming home, make sure they know the importance of self-care, and taking a much-deserved pause from school.
I also want to propose an idea, that I hope you will share with your students if they are not already in this mindset. Emerson College is a productive, but very busy and hectic environment. It can be easy to fall into the trap of overcommitment, and students begin to spread themselves too thin, too quickly. I find that so many of my peers, and even myself, so desperately waiting for Spring Break, in order to have a reprieve from the day to day chaos that can build up in our little bubble at school. We focus so much on our work, our study, and our commitment to our clubs and organizations that we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves in the process. Self-care is one of the most important things I have learned to do since being at Emerson. It is crucial in order to survive the hustle and bustle of our community.
So, while it is wonderful to have a full week to decompress, relax, and enjoy our friends and family, in Boston and beyond; let us carry with us the sentiments of Spring Break for the rest of the semester. Not to say your students should slack off and relax every day, all day, but make sure they know that taking time each day to check in with themselves and setting aside time for themselves to either relax or do something they like, is so important. Doing this will only serve to better their overall lives, and performance, in school and at work!
We hope that everyone and their students enjoy their Spring Break! We can’t wait to come back to Emerson and continue working hard!
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