While some of my friends soaked up UV rays by the pool with a beer in Punta Cana or an extravagant resort, I was at my home in New Hampshire, the coldest, where-the-heck-am-I, did-I-just-see-a-moose state in America. But the funny thing is I actually enjoyed it.

Let’s see … after stepping through an ice marsh to reach the course (yeah, it snowed the first night I got back), I hit a golf ball for the first time this year. That was awesome, even though dirt from the wet soil flew into my eye and splattered all over my clothes whenever I caught a little bit too much turf under the ball with my 9-iron. But hey, my ice marsh photo was the best thing I had to upload to Facebook compared to my friends’ beach photos.

[media-credit id=7 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Spring break finally gave me the opportunity to play basketball, something I have zero time for while working hard at school. Of course, after one three-hour session at the gym I realized I was way too out of shape to play that long without every muscle in my body aching, or for that matter, too out of shape to take off my shirt at a pool. Talk about a silver lining. (OK, I’m not really that self-conscious. Blubber or no blubber I will take off my shirt at any pool I can find.)

For the students like me who didn’t have the privilege of going someplace nice for spring break, I too pledged that I would try to get some schoolwork done. But did that actually happen? Not a chance. OK, maybe a little, but one wise person once quoted Judge Smails from Caddyshack for me (bear in mind, I’m a journalism student): “There are more important things than grades, Danny.”

So I listened, and focused on finding a career and a place to live after I graduate in May.

Whether I secured a job or found my next home is irrelevant. Taking those two searches seriously – just a couple months earlier than most students – might make the difference between having a miserable first year after college and having a great experience. Employers might recognize your passion. More apartments might be available. For the seniors who have no idea what lies ahead in their near future, it’s still not too late to start looking.

I’ll never know what my spring break could have been like if I had ponied up the dough to visit an island or two in the Bahamas, but I do know this: I feel a lot less stressed than most seniors who returned to a harsh reality.