Allow me to justify for you why the past week of break was not full of academic progress, and why that is perfectly OK. The Internet, admittedly, is the place to hear only what you want to hear. Selective navigation through the World Wide Web can lead you on the path of your choice, finding words like this on your first day back. But I also think they’re the right words. Congratulating a student’s ultra-productivity during the break is surely on some other Opinions page.

But here I say: well done on doing nothing last week. This is no applause for mediocrity, but a celebration of the fact that you probably gave your mind a break. If you went home to see friends and family, I hope you saw the heck out of them. If you stayed at Stanford, I hope you resisted all forms of schoolwork. Instead, you should have pursued other interests, and by interests I mean Hulu.

There is much to be said about the high level of stress that exists on a campus like ours, and extends to life beyond. Preserving basic mental health means you just have to do nothing sometimes, or at least do something besides what you’re supposed to be doing. Sure, you could have committed to doing a little bit of homework every day last week. But then where would your nap times have fit in? When could you have squeezed in all the important TV dramas, countless food shows and informative History Channel snippets? Were your friends and family just supposed to entertain themselves? Surely not, college-student-on-a-short-break, all of that was your job.

The week ahead may now appear before you in insurmountable fashion, just like many weeks before have done. But you can get through this one, and there are only two more separating you from the end of the quarter. Then classes will change, friends will return to or depart from campus, and we’ll be dealing with a whole lot of newness. Enjoy the very last of this worn-in quarter, having made the most of a much-needed break.