Man, Restoration Week was fantastic! I’ve never felt so rested in my life. I got to spend away the rest of my remaining flex points (I choose to blame it on the unfair oat milk upcharge at Starbucks) while devoting extra time to coming up with words that start with K (so that I can make convoluted and unnecessary acronyms). With all the restorativity I’ve gotten this week, I’ve been able to fire up the ol’ thinking machine to churn out some fresh new thoughts. And let me tell you, I’ve got one that’ll knock your socks off — an innovative way to give students more rest, relaxation and restorification than ever before.
We should give students a whole week off from classes.
Now I know this sounds a bit preposterous, but hear me out. As much as a week full of restorization helped, a ton of students still had tests, papers and presentations to do! Real restorationness comes from taking a break from schoolwork, not making self-care into another chore to tack on to the to-do list. That’s why I’m proposing my brand-new idea of canceling classes for five whole days.
Of course, this week of restoraciousness would be incomplete if we didn’t identify its mission statement. First, we’d have to make sure that there’s no academic activity of any kind going on, so that students don’t have to worry about schoolwork so much. We should all be free from any sort of scholarly requirements, including lectures, tutorials, labs and discussion sessions. Yeah, I like the sound of that — freedom from all lectures and learning.
Now obviously, we also need to highlight restorativism. We must bring attention to everything that this week will entail — not just restorality, but peace, serenity and enjoyment. Maybe students could get eight hours of sleep for a change, or consume more than just coffee and Flavor-Blasted Goldfish. They should get to have a nice, calming few days. Okay, I think we should add that this week will bring restoration and ease to everyone.
And we shouldn’t ignore that students have been working diligently up until now. Everyone has been doing their very best to hit those books and ace those tests. We would be discrediting all of their hard work if we didn’t appreciate their academic efforts. It’s definitely important that we recognize that students have been acquiring knowledge up until the point of this week.
Wow, you guys. I think I’m really on to something! Now, all this week needs is a title. Something that really captures what it’s all about. Something that mentions how all classes will be cancelled in order to reward students for their hard work and dedication with some good old-fashioned restorationality.
I think we should name this break “Freedom from All Lectures and Learning to Bring Restoration and Ease after Acquiring Knowledge.” And since that’s a bit of a mouthful, we could call it F.A.L.L.B.R.E.A.K. for short. Imagine how much the students would love it! “I can’t wait for F.A.L.L.B.R.E.A.K.” “I’m feeling pretty burned out, I’m so glad that F.A.L.L.B.R.E.A.K. is coming up.” “Even though we can’t go home this year for F.A.L.L.B.R.E.A.K., I sure am glad that we’re able to take a few days off from classes and schoolwork!”
Honestly, I’m pretty proud of myself. I didn’t know I had it in me to come up with such a novel idea. Hopefully we can get something like it next year. Or maybe next semester we can even have a “Short Period of Rest In order to Nurture Growth and Boost Relaxation for Everyone as an Act of Kindness.” S.P.R.I.N.G.B.R.E.A.K. for short. But heck, a girl can only dream!
Ella Wisniewski is a junior studying English and Economics. She tries her best not to take herself too seriously. You can reach her at ewisnie2@nd.edu or @ellawisn on Twitter.
What if we had a week off from classes? Haha, jk … unless?
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
