By Allie Boulier

Tragically for VBCPS students all over the district, ‘Florence Break’ has come and gone, leaving us all with ruined sleeping schedules, horrible cases of procrastination, and the cravings to finish the shows we were in the middle of binging.

At least in my neck of the woods, the tiny gusts of winds and scattered showers had no effect on my power. Thankfully, I got to keep my AC running and my Netflix working. I can’t even imagine what would have happened if my phone died because there was no power.

Unfortunately, my best friend is located in Zone A of Virginia Beach and was forced to evacuate to his grandmother’s house. Even though, of course, the evacuation ended up being precautionary rather than necessary, the thought of his house being at risk was chilling.

Of course, with a portion of the city evacuated, Virginia Beach City Public Schools was forced to close school for four days. Both of my parents, who work in the VBCPS school system, were stunned over the unexpected time off. My father, who is an eighth grade math teacher, fretted with each passing day about losing time he needed with his students. Although I loved the time off, I have to say it is easy to see why he was concerned.

Rather than stressing out like my father, I spent my time relaxing. Over what is now being referred to as “summer break part two,” I watched three new movies, binged Gilmore Girls, and procrastinated doing the homework I suddenly had a week to complete.

I tried to be productive; I technically completed four pages of my first college application, which I have been putting off since August. With my sudden vacation though, I was overtaken by this carpe diem state of mind. Surprisingly (not), I just ended up sitting on my couch, convincing myself this was a good enough excuse to not read Crime and Punishment.

My sleeping schedule inevitably was horribly altered, as I didn’t have to wake up at 5 every morning. You could say the first day back from our week off was difficult. It seemed coffee was my savior, as was the three layers of concealer I had to apply on my dark circles to appear slightly less zombie-like.

Although I appreciated the week off enormously, after a few days I was dragged back into my summer mindset. School was the last thing on my mind, which made the first day back that much harder. To all of you who also felt like we had another first day of school, I wish you good luck. We probably need it.