This article was originally published prior to June 2, 2013. Due to a change in the content management systems, the initial publication date in not available. 

We all just need to get away sometimes.

Whether it’s from reading for class, the anxiety associated with filling out graduate program applications or just a break from the feeling of going through the motions with school and sleep or lack thereof – getting away is a welcomed relief.

As common as it may sound, one of the best activities I can think of to get my mind off schoolwork is to just relax with old friends.

Now, I’m not saying your old friends need to be octogenarians or that they have to be people you met on the first day of kindergarten and have stayed close to since sharing Lincoln Logs.

There is something about spending time with people who get all the inside jokes and sideways glances without having to explain them that is both comforting and reassuring.

This past weekend I met up with some friends I’ve known since middle school and was instantly transported back to when things were much simpler.

I wasn’t worried about getting those readings for literary criticism finished right away, filling out the applications to graduate study programs with ever-increasing anxiety or even about the grocery shopping I would have to do, as all I had left was a container of yogurt and a can of soup.

Instead I was laughing until my sides hurt, and I thought I was going to pee myself.

I was content sitting in a friend’s apartment while she played a video game and the rest of us commented on how poorly she was doing.

When her cat challenged her to a boxing match, we all just sat around and laughed deeply until it felt like we’d been doing an Abs of Steel workout – for the record, I have never done an Abs of Steel workout on VHS or DVD, though I assume guttural laughing for five hours would have the same feeling.

Removing myself from the environment really helped.

It allowed me to look at what I was doing from a new angle, relax and see what is important.

If going to a coffee shop and having a latte while listening to a local band helps you unwind, go for it.

If driving up to IHOP or Perkins at 2 a.m. allows you to let your hair down, do it.

If it’s having a drink at the Salt Mine with some people from class, enjoy it – that is if you’re of legal age to consume alcohol and don’t drink and drive.

It seems as we inch closer and closer to finals, planning courses for the next semester and nearing graduation only to prepare for real-world work or graduate study, we allow ourselves to get bogged down with worry and stress.

Remember to keep some balance between studying for exams and then allow for a quick getaway and laugh until it hurts.