Spring Breakers

Whether it be trekking in Utah, exploring France, programming websites or lying in bed, Exonians experienced another fun spring break filled with adventure and relaxation. After a long and brutal winter term, nothing is better than two weeks of freedom, and the student body spread throughout the world to enjoy their respite.“During this break, I spent ten days in France, starting in Nice and ending in Paris, stopping in Carcassonne, Luynes, Bordeaux and Amboise along the way,” lower Lily Sexton, who journeyed to France with a dorm mate and family, said. “I have studied French for five years now, and I had always wanted to visit France, so for my sixteenth birthday, we did. It was an amazing trip filled with delicious food and beautiful sites.”Lower Emmaline Kim, who is a day student, traveled on a similar trip to visit friends and take a break from Exeter. “My mother and I went to visit some family friends in the north of Holland, then we went to Amsterdam and lastly to Paris,” she said. “We wanted to get away from Exeter because I'm a day student, so taking a trip was great. As a day student, sometimes breaks can feel less relaxing if you have to stare at campus the whole time, so getting away was really nice.”While Kim and Sexton toured the provinces of Europe, other students used their free time to develop extracurricular skills and get some work done.“I programmed websites for most of break, working as a freelance designer,” lower Will Haering said. “I have become more and more efficient as I have become a better developer, and it went very well. I love breaks because they provide me with the opportunity to do things I love that might not be easy to do during school, where work prevents me from developing as much as I would like.”Most Exonians, however, caught up on some well deserved sleep during the two weeks of vacation.“The last couple weeks of Winter Term were hard to fight through, but Spring Break came eventually,” prep Darius Kahan said. “Finally, I could sleep until whenever and do whatever. Of course, education is an essential ingredient to our growing minds, but we do need time to rest and recover.”Although the student body partook in various activities during spring break, everyone seems to love it for the same reason. “I enjoy break because it's a time in which I have nothing to be stressed about, and I can relax with my friends and family,” Sexton said. “It's a nice break from life on campus.”Lower Will Ettinger shared similar thoughts. “I think it's pretty obvious why everybody loves breaks—it’s because they are away from school,” Ettinger said. “Breaks provide an opportunity for escape, a great chance to collect your thoughts on the past term and the one upcoming.”In addition, many athletes participated in their sports team preseason programs. Lower Malcolm Ogden spent the last half of his break in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida with the boys’ varsity lacrosse team, practicing with his teammates for about six to eight hours a day.Ogden believed that the chance to focus on just lacrosse helped him improve and bond with the team members. “It was great because for a couple days, lacrosse was the only thing on our minds. We didn't have to worry about math tests or 333s, the only thing we concentrated on was lacrosse. It was a great team building trip and definitely the highlight of my break,” he said.