Pioneers, we think we speak for everyone when we say that Thanksgiving Break can’t come soon enough. This semester has been a long one so far, and everyone will benefit from a break. But many of us won’t actually take a true break.

Lots of people are going to go home, sure, but many of us won’t give ourselves the time we need to decompress. There’s still lots of work to be done this semester, there’s no doubting that. A lot of people will end up working on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and/or throughout the break. We understand that people are busy and have commitments and things to do.

That being said, we’d also like to make a request of students: this break, actually take some sort of break. That doesn’t necessarily mean you spend the entire break completely checked out, but it does mean that you should give some time to yourself. Maybe that comes in the form of playing the new Pokémon games, going for a nice walk through your neighborhood with your dog or finally getting around to watching “Squid Game.” Or, maybe it just comes in the form of just completely checking out for a week.

To achieve this goal, though, we’re also asking professors to ease up on the assignments. We realize that the timing of Thanksgiving Break isn’t ideal for relaxing since it’s only a few weeks before the end of the semester. Many classes have end-of-term essays, projects or performances, and, once we get back from break, finals are very quickly upon us. However, the number of classes students are taking and the assignments for each class have to be considered when faculty are planning their course load. If a full-time student burns out before finals because they were working nonstop for 14 weeks, can we really blame them?

Practicing self care is very important. The weight of the world, and the weight of academic responsibilities, can seem incredibly heavy and daunting. One of the best ways to manage your stress is to take time to let the weight off of your shoulders, relax and then come back recharged and ready to go. Don’t forget that the reason you’re here at Point Park is for yourself. So we ask again, Pioneers: enjoy your break and try not to stress too much.