Spring Break is always a very well received week. People are happy to have a few free days to rest from the busy and even stressful weekly routine and to disconnect from school. When kids have free time they spend it in plenty of different ways, but these are not always as productive as they would like them to be. That extra time that Spring Break offers is so valuable, especially for people who normally do not have it, and in general it can be invested, donated, or wasted depending on how it is used.

During Spring Break, some people that had the opportunity to try to spend more time with family and friends. They took advantage of this time to do different activities together, like traveling.

“I went to Disney World with my immediate family, mom, dad and five younger brothers. My whole family loves Disney so going to Disney World is a blast,” said senior Eliana Harmer. “We all enjoyed spending time together too which can be hard to do because school can be crazy.”

Junior Jin ZeQian also had the opportunity to try something new.

“I went skiing to Colorado with some friends. It’s something I had never done before and I loved it. I would definitely repeat it again,” said ZeQian.

Both of these students had a very good time. Although it is difficult to choose, there are always some things that are a little more special than the rest.

“I really liked ski jumping. It was awesome; I wish I could practice this sport more often,” said ZeQian, while Harmer said, “I don’t know if I could say a specific part to be my favorite. I love the whole atmosphere at Disney and it was a great break from school and life.”

Despite not having school, other people did not get a rest from work or sports practices, so they stayed at home.

“During Spring Break I had many responsibilities on my shoulders,” said sophomore Colten Welch. “Instead of going on vacation I had to stay and take care of my house… I couldn’t leave because of baseball and work, which is not a bad thing.”

Senior Trinity White was able to make room to visit her family when not working.

“Originally I was scheduled to work a majority of spring break, but I asked off the first half of the week so that I could spend some more time with my friends,” said senior Trinity White. “I ended up only working Wednesday morning, Thursday night, and pretty much the whole weekend. When I wasn’t working, I got to visit some family in Granbury, and spend time with friends.”

Staying at home also has many upsides. It is important to know how to take advantage of them and to see the positive side.

“I think that my favorite part was being able to have these responsibilities. Usually, you are taken care of but it was fun having to buy my own food, having to take care of myself, and live like I would live and not like my parents or my brothers or sisters,” Welch said.

“I’m currently saving up for a mission trip to Africa so I don’t mind working over holidays and breaks because I’m trying to save up! I love my co-workers; they’re some of my best friends, so I don’t mind going to work,” said White.

Also, there are people who have more free time and they donate it to help others by going on mission trips for example.

“I did go on a Mission Trip!! It was a high school & young adult mission trip with New River Fellowship. We went to Quinlan, Texas and served at a place called Arms of Hope!” said senior Mady Floyd.

She also described her experience on the mission trip.

“It was amazing seeing so many people come together and realize that they weren’t alone in their struggles and that they could come to anyone of us to talk to…It was amazing seeing the kids open up to us and want to see us the next day and come up to us like they’ve known us for years! We also shared a powerful night together after the serving day was done. It was a night of forgiveness and a night to lay down things that were holding us back from pursuing God with our whole hearts. There were lots of tears, but they were good tears, and worship like I’ve never felt before,” Floyd said.

In addition to helping others, the people who go on mission trips learn and grow as persons, and they create strong relationships united for the same reason.

“Serving has been a big part of my life, as I am constantly serving at New River, whether that be on Sunday mornings teaching kids small groups, to mission trips, to being a student leader at kids summer camps. I love being able to share my time with others and serve them, especially kids because that is where God has put my heart” said Floyd. “I made so many connections that week that will definitely last a lifetime.”

In general, Spring Break is a week in which, despite having work or other tasks, kids have free time to use it as they want or as they can. And while they perform some activities or others, they gain experiences and take advantage of their free time.

“I would definitely say my time was invested. I got to have a blast, make new awesome memories, and enjoy quality time with my family,” said Harmer. “I invested my time… not every day you have the opportunity to try new things,” said ZeQian.

Not only the people who traveled invested their time, those who stayed at home and fulfilled their responsibilities by doing things from which they have drawn positive conclusions proved that it is not necessary to go anywhere to invest time.

“I feel like I invested my time in the Spring Break. No, I might not have gone anywhere, but I did get so experience responsibilities that you typically don’t experience at this age. I also worked as much as I could at baseball just trying to get better and felt like a good employee and coworker while doing it,” said Welch, while White said, “I feel that I’ve invested my time because the overall big picture is that I’m making money and serving the people of Weatherford.”

And undoubtedly those who dedicated their free time to others invested it and gained great experiences that helped them see the world with a different perspective.

“I definitely feel that I invested my time. I got to spread the love of Jesus with people that may not have seen His love before, and just being able to plant that seed, whether we get to see the result or not, has definitely made a HUGE impact on everyone there, including all of us that served,” said Floyd.