With any winter break, many of us have friends flocking towards sunny picnics in front of the Eiffel Tower and rooftop bars in London’s Soho. So where does that leave the rest of us who are at home, working, or saving for a European holiday next winter?

Here are some tips to make it through the Santorini Instagrams because let’s be real – you may as well burn money than deal with that European exchange rate.

Save Up For YOUR Euro Holiday

Rather than try to outdo your friend’s Instagrams with an onslaught of your brunching escapades, why not save some dosh to put away to long-term purchases (or European holidays). That doesn’t mean you have to let work take precedent – treat yo self! Take some time out to go on a road trip or a night out to see new and old friends. Amp up the FOMO for your friends abroad when you upload on your social media (amiright).

This may also be a great time to do some adulting tasks, or perhaps even start a side hustle – making cards, walking dogs, event photography or tutoring – return to the basics and the money will soon pile up.

“Find” Yourself Closer To Home

Time to answer the hard hitting questions and for good reason too! In reality, you don’t need a Tuscan sun or hours of walking until you’ve lost count of the number of Venetian bridges you’ve crossed to find yourself. Re-evaluate your current situation – are you studying something you love? Working part-time in a place you can tolerate? Surrounding yourself with people that support you?

And while you’re at it, why not reconnect with old friends (unless there is a reason why you avoided them in the first place) or reconcile sour relationships (ditto). Despite a majority of the general population probably in Europe right now, chances are, the person you always run into and always promise each other to meet for coffee sometime isn’t.

Start Some Good Habits

Through the autopilot of semester, there’s often no time to reflect on our lives as much as we’d like to. Consider meditation – particularly if you’re feeling burnt out from all that cramming you did. Taking extra spare time in the holidays to readjust your body clock and become more conscious of what your body needs to hit a balance is crucial to giving you an edge next semester.

Of course, there’s no need to start juice diets, but maybe replace some unhealthy habits. Using the holidays to integrate a daily workout regime or even a day of the week to be vegetarian will help you sustain these practices during the semester when things are usually full steam ahead.

Levelling Up

Hopefully you haven’t succumbed to the temptation of sleeping in until midday every day, because the holidays present an opportunity to gain new skills. Whether that’s a language you’ve wanted to learn for a long time, a cuisine you wish you could cook, or maybe you want to volunteer or take on an internship to put yourself one step ahead of your peers (who are lazing around in Europe).

Usually it’s just a matter of expressing your interest for volunteer positions but with internships they will require you to send your CV. To better your chances take your time when you’re editing and pay attention to spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Either way having the opportunity to strengthen your professional and personal skill set during the holidays highlights you as a person with initiative and bolsters your CV for jobs in the future.

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Michelle Dang is studying LLB/BA (media and communication) at the University of Sydney and hopes moving out before 30 will be a reality.