It’s been a week, and we’re starting to accept it.
Gone are the days of vegging out on the couch and binge-watching "Scandal" on Netflix while your mom asks what you want for dinner. The lazy days of winter break bliss have drawn to a close, replaced by the humdrum of syllabus week and never-ending lines at the bookstore.
But it’s not all bad — after all, we do choose to return to Columbia at the end of every break. You’ve been gone for a month. It’s time to get reacquainted with the city.
1. Grab a sandwich.
Doesn’t matter where — could be Groucho’s, could be Beezer's. Maybe go mainstream and order up some Jimmy John’s. Columbia has some sandwiches, and it’s been weeks since you’ve had one. Go. Run to them. (Or get one delivered because you can.)
2. Appreciate nature
Your hometown is probably cool, and you probably had a lot of fun while you were back there for the holidays. But does it have more trees than Columbia? (Oh, it does? OK, well in that case, you’re probably good on the tree front. Just humor me, and let’s pretend you’re from a city or some sort of suburb naked of foliage.) Walk out onto the Horseshoe and look around you. There are big trees, little trees, shrubs and grass as far as the walk from McKissick to Lieber. Take it all in. Just don’t stay out there too long though because it is January and, you know, wind chill and stuff.
3. Have a staring contest with a squirrel
This one requires having food, so maybe stop and get that sandwich we were talking about earlier before you take on the squirrel. Step one: spot a squirrel. Get its attention and make it clear that you’re holding food. Step two: stare at the squirrel. Chances are, it’ll start to edge toward you while it formulates a plan to snag your snack. Step three: don’t give in. And more importantly, don’t let that little scamp near your sandwich. By now, you’ve been staring at a squirrel for a few minutes, so you can probably stop. You're making it weird.
4. Get stuck behind a train
Yeah, it’ll be annoying. But think about it: nothing says, “Welcome back to Columbia, the city of getting stuck behind trains” quite like getting stuck behind a train.