Spring Break—Be Careful What You Wish For

By Genevieve Buthod

Our spring break was the perfect escape from stress and worry over trials the semester. I don’t know if I would be able to handle all of the stress of the next half of this year without that week or so to gather my thoughts and collect myself. I feel incredibly refreshed and ready to accomplish my weight’s worth of assignments for the rest of the year!

The second day after I got home to St. Louis, my boyfriend and I decided to finally go on that day trip we have been planning for too long. We went on a hike in an interesting area—Missouri Research Park. The area we hiked in, Weldon Springs, is an official nuclear dump site in our state. Sounds a little unsafe, but it was such a beautiful day that we decided to explore the park and enjoy its natural beauty. We went on both the Lewis and Clark trails, edged by bluffs overlooking the Missouri River. We climbed out onto one of the rocks hanging off the edge of a bluff (in the picture below) and had lunch and sunny naps, until we were ambushed by a couple of adorable and friendly Dalmatians.

I applied to many jobs, had an interview with the St. Louis City Democrats, and wrote for my internship with the Anthony R. Martin campaign back here in Mount Greenwood. I had a relaxing time, but I still found a balance of hard work and effort in projects I’m involved with as well as preparing for the future.

This past Saturday night, we went to see the St. Louis Symphony perform something a little different than usual—avant-garde impressionist composers. We heard Claude Debussy’s Printemps, perfect for spring. But the main attraction was their performance of Igor Stravinsky’s score for the Russian ballet, Firebird. The story was beautifully told by the expressive musicians and was punctuated by a handful of bright trumpets stationed in random places throughout the audience!

Probably the best part of spring break, however, was a blessing in disguise. I was waiting for my Megabus back to Chicago on Sunday morning, and became a little worried when 45 minutes had passed and it still did not roll into the station. My boyfriend and I were talking about how we wished we had one more day to spend together to make the most of break, when a security guard came up and asked him to move his car, and inform me that the bus stop had moved a block away and I had missed my bus back to Chicago.

The only thing to do at that point was laugh, call my teachers to explain, and enjoy our extra day together! We celebrated by going to see The Artist and getting a super-cheap dinner at a favorite hole-in-the-wall Chinese joint. A perfect break, topped off with an amazing but unexpected 24 hours. Now, back to work until Easter.

Genevieve Buthod is a sophomore, and a major in Computer Science with a minor in Philosophy. She is a happy and healthy vegan. She is also the TIAA-CREF Campaign Manager for Students for Justice in Palestine. Genevieve is the Senior Viewpoints Editor for the Xavierite.