Rather than bore you with yet another lesson I’ve learned about life the hard way, I’ll start off this column, my last of the year 2007, with a short story from the history of the United States of America. If you groaned after the last sentence, worry not; there will be an exciting parallel drawn to this story. If you’ve been reading my columns consistently over the past few weeks, then you should know by now that there is an underlying meaning. Nevertheless, I shall begin.

Once upon a time, a disgruntled American colonist name George Washington and his army of roughly 12,000 soldiers withdrew into the hills of Pennsylvania. The British army, fighting to hold onto one of the crown jewels of their empire, had just captured Philadelphia, then capital of the fledgling United States. Washington made the decision to let his exhausted soldiers rest, and to use that time to reorganize the army and

train. It wasn’t an easy decision: while Washington’s troops hunkered down, the British continued raiding American towns. But Washington made the strategic decision to rest his troops, and it was the right decision. The next summer, rested and reorganized, the Americans were victorious against the British at the Battle of Monmouth, one of the

early turning points in the Revolutionary War.

Why am I writing a column about this if you can pick up a history book anytime you’d like and read it on your own, you ask? Well, aside from not being able to turn down an opportunity to put in a plug for the Keystone State, I believe we can all learn something from Washington’s decision. Whether you’re struggling with 18 credits of coursework or 30,000 bloody redcoats, periodically, there comes times when you have to take a break. Once all of your dreaded finals are over, unless you were so fortunate to escape having any, that time will come: Winter Break. You don’t have to spend your winter break practicing combat drills with Prussian drill masters, as the Continental Army did; rather, do something you enjoy! I’ve found that the more mindless it is, the better it usually is. Sit down at your laptop and watch random videos on YouTube. Better yet, play in the snow…or in the case of Troy two days ago, ice. Or, for those of you looking for something that requires no thought whatsoever, find out what they’re doing up at that engineering day-camp in Potsdam.

We’re engaged in an intense business at RPI. Within just four, short years, we manage to transform teenagers into professionals—and engineers, at that. This is a lot for a species that have been on the planet for two million years but up until a few millenniums ago still lacked a written language. A modest amount of relaxation actually increases productivity down the line. Ordinarily, I would cite a fact for this, but I, myself, am in dire need of a break. There is no shame in being lazy for a few weeks; rather, I like to think that the amount of downtime you need is merely a testament to the intensity of our experience here.

I’ll spare you the standard maternal imperatives to eat well, exercise, wash behind your ears and get plenty of Vitamin C—I’m sure most of you will be hearing that in a short amount of time, anyway. Just make sure you have a chance to wind down so you are geared up for next semester.