For many people, it’s Christmas season. But for many students though, it’s cram season. Thanksgiving break gave us barely enough time to catch our breaths and now as we race towards Christmas break and towards the closing of the 2nd-9 weeks, many of us are exhausted. 

And whether you’re rank one or 245, school is draining. It not only takes a mental toll, but a physical one, too. As such, you need to satisfy your exhaustion. What better time to figure this out than over winter break? 

Listen, I’ve spent many dollars and hours in vain attempts to find a universal cure. I’ve read books, watched videos, and even consulted with my mother. Eventually, I finally realized this “universal cure” doesn’t exist. There’s no religion, practice, or witchcraft that will cure you and all your problems while simultaneously doing the same for everyone else. 

This unfortunate fact makes prescribing you all with one remedy difficult. However, I can prescribe you all a broad procedure. I hope that my simplified guide can save you some of the time and money I so painstakingly lost.

First, you need to understand that your cure is not going to be just one grand thing. Rather, it will be the application of many small things that in time add up. For instance, you cannot just ride on one thing in hopes of it eventually bringing you fulfilment. When that one thing doesn’t amount to what you hoped it would, you could be in some unaccounted debt. This seems obvious enough, but I see it all the time, just in more obscure forms (if you’re one of those kids who has staked everything on the hopes of one day going to an Ivy League school, this is for you). 

The next thing is also semi-obvious, however in practice it’s easily lost. It’s patience. 

You will slowly crawl towards change by implementing small changes sporadically. They will not all be fruitful at once and to be honest, some may never be. Plant and nurture many seeds, though, and some are bound to sprout. 

If you’ve ever been to any type of therapy or read any self-help book, you’ve heard something along the lines of “it’s a lifestyle change.” It’s not a new pair of shoes, or a new hobby, or even a new friend that will bring change, rather, it’s all of the above. 

The upcoming break is the most opportune time to reevaluate your lifestyle before we rush into a new year (hence the concept of New Year’s resolutions). Hopefully over the break you can find the time to implement many small changes that, in due time, will bring the change you so need.