by Gina Plaitakis

photo by Jill Wellington

It’s been four weeks since I began my school break, and I’ve been making the most of the opportunity to live like I did before becoming a student again

How nice to have weekends with no homework, no deadlines and no projects. I made it through the first semester fine and looking back now, the pain has already begun to fade from memory. I’ve been filling my days with all sorts of pampering and indulgences that I neglected for three months: lunches and dinners with the other ladies of the house, a massage, a facial, a mani/pedi, acupuncture, a haircut, a four-day meditation retreat, a week-long cleansing diet, a week of skiing in Vermont, a couple of novels, a couple of Broadway shows, working out at the gym on a regular basis, plus my annual checkup and other doctor appointments. I also have volunteered in my daughter’s school a few times and enjoyed playing board games with the family in our PJs on weekends. I have one week more of bliss left before school starts again.

This semester I have decided to take on an additional course—adding another three credits to my workload. We’ll see how it goes; at least I know what I’m in for. Sometimes it gets me thinking: Maybe I should try one of those fake online diplomas that my husband jokingly tells me about. (Just kidding!) It would certainly be easier and cheaper but it would be cheating and I’m not a good liar. Plus, I wouldn’t be learning anything beneficial that would help me in my new career. The field of education probably would be the last place you could get away with a fake diploma. They are very careful about checking transcripts, credits and letters of recommendation. Not to mention, I would be creating a lot of negative karma. So I’ll stick to the original plan and just take it one day at a time. That’s all you can do.