After Grad School, We Need a Break

Last week, I finished grad school. I can't believe the last 10 months are over and done. It was a crazy ride with ups, downs, in-the-middles and almost every emotion I could imagine. There were laughs, tears, screams of fury, migraines, anxiety and sleepless nights, and we somehow made it out alive. 
At the graduation ceremony, our class speaker shared some specific numbers with us: in the last 10 months, we wrote a combined estimated 810 pages of research, more than 1,800 lines of code, built six professional-level websites and traveled more than 26,000 miles in January for our fly-in projects. And that's not the end of it. I can't imagine what the combined totals for our thesis projects would be. So it's safe to say that we worked our butts off this year.

photo via Katie Williamsen, Elon iMedia

It's because of all that we've done in the last year that I say... my 30 classmates and I deserve a nice break. 
Over the last 10 months, my classmates and I were stressed more often than we weren't stressed. In fact, 8 out of 10 Americans say they feel overwhelmed and exhausted in their daily lives. According to the APA, almost half of all adult Americans admit that they're concerned about the stress levels in their lives. The great folks at Chobani yogurt understand the importance of healthy lifestyles and giving yourself a break when you need it. And how perfect that National Break You Make Day, in honor of Chobani Flips, is coming up on June 3rd! Who knew? 
Today, I nominate my 30 amazing, talented classmates to take a well-deserved break and let yourselves have some "me" time. We all know how hard we worked this year, and we all joked for the last month of the program about how excited we were to sleep for 12+ hours and not stare at our computers all day, every day. Sorry MacBook, it's not you, it's me. 

photo by Katie Williamsen, Elon iMedia

To Martina, Gary, Tyler, Booker, Drayton, Caroline, Nick, Ted, BFrye, Matt, Brittany, Nia, Emily and Emily, Ashley, Lauren, Henry, Jon, Anna, Jenny, Brandon, Sam, Monique, Tiffany, Kendal, Ryan, Paula, Beth, Megan and Maria... take a break. Put your feet up. Y'all deserve it. 
And you, too, if you're reading this. You deserve a break, too. How will you take your break you make?