After grey skies and intense academics, Campo students greatly anticipated the two week break following a long week of finals. While some stayed home or drove up to enjoy the Tahoe snow, many went out of state on vacations.

Sophomore Lucy Maguire “went to Rome, Venice and a town called San Gimignano.” She loved her time abroad: “My favorite place was Venice. I’ve never seen anything like it; it was a really cool place to go,” Maguire said. She felt that her trip had an evident impact on her: “Rome is a very historical place and is something we’ve talked about so much in my history classes so it was really cool to see all the things I’ve learned about in real life.”

Senior Kate Kabenina visited Park City, Utah, continuing a cherished family tradition. “We go there to ski everywhere and it was a lot of fun,” Kabenina said. She added, “Park City has a lot of beautiful sights especially if you wake up early enough to watch the sunrise and then also watch the sunset. The snow with all the greenery around looks really beautiful.”

France, the Netherlands and Belgium were exciting destination points for sophomore Yi Yi Nguyen, who traveled for a total of 16 days. She enjoyed, “eating a lot of food, seeing canals, going on a cruise in Amsterdam…and seeing a lot of museums and sightseeing in Paris.”

Utilizing this time to destress and mentally reorient for the second semester is vital for students. Maguire felt highly stressed during the end of the semester: “I really needed the break, I was so stressed. But I knew winter break was coming, and I just had to get through finals.”

Kabenina said, “It’s nice to get breaks from school…because you can get back into your own head and yes, school provides a nice routine but sometimes stepping away from all of that is really relaxing.”

Spending time with family and friends was also a top priority for students. Maguire said, “I spent more time with my family because I was on a trip. It was also nice to hang out with people and not be stressed about school. During finals I was studying so much I wouldn’t be able to hang out with my family even though we were in the same house.”

Kabenina spent a lot of time with her family too: “It’s really nice to come back from school and really connect with your family for a couple of weeks.”

This is a well-deserved, memorable time for many students who take advantage of their two weeks to cultivate meaningful experiences.