UNC has scheduled a “Wellness Weekend” at the beginning of every spring semester since the COVID-19 pandemic. As someone who thrives in warm weather, I asked my mom during my sophomore year if we could go somewhere warm for the weekend to escape the January cold. My mom saw an opportunity for a family trip–something that is rare since my sister graduated college and moved out of North Carolina
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That first trip sparked a tradition: every Wellness Weekend, we head to Florida for sunshine, R&R, and fiercely competitive rounds of Spades. These trips have become some of my favorite college memories.
This year, we went to Duck Key.My mom has dreamed for years about us flying into Miami and driving down US 1 to the Keys, and we finally made it happen. We even stopped at the famous Robert Is Here fruit stand in Homestead, FL before settling into our condo—our little oasis for the next three days.
While we were there, Tiktok was allegedly supposed to shutdown. While I can’t say I’m not addicted to the app, I do argue it is necessary to keep as I want to go into sports media. How else will I stay updated on all of the trends? Everyone I knew didn’t really believe it would get deleted.
But then it happened.
I got the notification saying “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now” BEFORE midnight.
I felt robbed.
With TikTok gone, I turned to the hobby I used to stay up doing: reading. Back in December, I had started A Court of Thorns and Roses—a series all my friends were obsessed with. And before my roommate Olive (an English major) starts rolling her eyes at me, yes, I know it’s not a classic and it’s definitely a “chick book,” but it’s a fun read and a break from my assigned class readings. Over the Wellness Weekend, I flew through the second book in less than two days. As someone who is not the fastest reader, I was shocked.
For the rest of the trip, instead of watching Tiktok before bed, I read. It started a habit that followed me home from Florida and through the return of TikTok. My dad always told my sister and I that “Readers are leaders,” and picking back up a hobby I have loved since I was a little girl makes me think that girl would be proud of me too.