Thanksgiving break offered a welcome downtime from coursework, and there were many different ways to enjoy that time off. From spending time with hometown friends to stretching post-break deadlines as thin as possible, the room to breathe was very much needed. However, I spent my break a little differently despite doing the two things I already listed. For me, I spent my weekend binge-watching James Bond films.

I entered the break on the verge of burning out, but spending time enjoying over-the-top action and charismatic quips weirdly revitalized me. I went through every Sean Connery flick, and the title of this article is even a reference to one of my favorite Bond films, “From Russia with Love.”

It’s been a consistent theme for me this semester, where I try to stop a burnout from happening by taking time to prioritize my own well-being. Whenever I truly overworked myself, spending hours at a time juggling each of my classes, I just needed to take a day or two off and dedicate it to relaxation.

Usually, this consisted of watching television shows, playing video games, or watching movies. Though this break felt different, mostly because I watched four movies in a day, double that of what I could handle normally, and double that of what I had the time for. It really showed me just how much I needed a true break from my hectic college life and from my rigorous college course load.

College is a beast, and trying to keep up with every component of it truly drains me. As a first-year student, this semester was as much about coursework as it was about trying to figure out how to be a college student. To do each assignment to the best of my abilities, do each of the assigned readings, and then read other articles to complete my other assignments, is a herculean task. To try to write everything down for this article is made easier only by the fact that I took the time to relax by binge-watching Bond films.

I am not a machine, and I am so thankful for that, but I feel as though there are so many parts of me that constantly need to be attended to. For starters, I need the necessities: food, water, and sleep. Then I need to get everything done with a deadline, but I can’t just focus all my energy on that without exhausting myself and burning myself out.

That is why I need to focus my energy on what I would call passive work, be that reading a book, listening to music, or watching a movie. I could try and make up a connection between the movies I watch and my courses, explain the Technicolor in terms of art appreciation, or the historical context behind the films. Yet, the beauty is that these two things are isolated in my life.

I am a strong believer in separating personal and work life, especially as finals are around the corner for Rowan students. The time I spend planning out and doing my coursework coexists with the time I spend on myself, but their separation allows me to prosper in both sides of my life. This Thanksgiving break, after all the turkey, the divider between the two was a marathon of James Bond films.

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