The weekend before spring break was so great.

I know it sounds glib, but its true. That feeling you get when you can just feel freedom moments away and wresting away from all those pesky responsibilities, that’s what I’m talking about.

That weekend, I went and saw Swan Lake, a ballet performance. Funded in part by the Dance program, 16 of us braved historic snow levels to get to the extremely fancy Academy of Music in Philadelphia to watch the Pennsylvania Ballet company put on a stunning performance.

(I will admit here that I had to google the story of swan lake to understand what was happening on stage. This is largely due to my own inexperience with sophisticated dance.)

Walking back to the train station I remember feeling culturally educated, and just a little pretentious.

Spring break itself was a completely different story. A bunch of friends and myself volunteered for Alternative Spring Break (organized by 8th Dimension at Haverford) that after a little snafu, placed us with Rebuild NJ in Monmouth.

As part of a larger team, we were tasked with rebuilding houses that had been destroyed by Hurricane Sandy almost two years ago.

It was the first time I picked up a nail gun.

Oh the power!

The trip was all sorts of rewarding. We were helping people put back their lives, we got to meet the other volunteers, and of course, we had no essays or assignments due.

And then we came home to this beautiful, warm, SPRING weather.

All in all, a week well spent.