As Spring Break ends, reminisce and appreciate your time off. Don’t mourn.

Today is every college student’s least favorite day of the year: the first day of classes after Spring Break. I completely understand. In fact, I wrote this in a car on the way back from my own fantastic trip. Today is especially irritating because we get all the frustration of returning to normal life without any of the excitement of starting fresh or being close to finishing a semester.

While I certainly agree that today is a letdown, I’m going to ignore that for a moment. Let’s talk about how great the concept that brought us to this post-break depression is.

Travel is truly amazing. I feel that sometimes we take advantage of it. If we are going somewhere we’ve already been, it may seem less exciting. If we’d rather go somewhere we’ve already been, the new destination may not meet expectations. With social media, we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, wondering if we’re having as much fun as they are or if our trips stack up to the others.

Instead of comparing our vacation to others, we should be comparing a life filled with adventure to a life lived in one place. Before the days of air, car or boat travel, we were stuck. Now, you can jump in your car and be in the next state in a matter of hours. Hop on a plane, and you can be across an ocean overnight. As college students, we are at a unique stage in our lives. We have a designated time of year in which we’re not only allowed but encouraged to leave normalcy behind and do whatever we’d like.

I saw photos and heard stories of people taking off in every direction. Students took off for Europe, cruised to Mexico, did service projects in South America, went on mission trips, skied down mountains and visited big cities all across America. This is incredible. We’re used to sitting in our dorms or apartments in Gainesville, and each Spring we get to take a break from our school life and do other things. Why waste time thinking about what other people are doing or what else we could be doing? Whatever you are doing, it is different from what is normal. Even if you went to visit family for Spring Break or stayed in town for work, we still get a week off school. Life is good, guys. It may not feel like it right now, but think back to a week ago. I hope you got to spend your break doing something you love with someone you love. I hope you went on an adventure or had some much-deserved peace and quiet. Whatever you did, let it propel you through these next few weeks.

Taylor Cavaliere is a UF journalism and psychology sophomore. Her column appears on Mondays.