Unfortunately, a severe lack of funds meant I would be spending the better part of break in my hometown of Alpena (Michigan’s Advenshore!).

My expectations were epically low. For those not familiar with the oft-overlooked gem of the North, Alpena is a city with a population of about 11,000 located in northeast Michigan. (Think of it this way: if you hold up the mitten, Alpena would be about the tip of your index finger.) The closest freeway is at least an hour and a half away, the closest mall (in Traverse City or Saginaw) is about a two-hour drive.

I anticipated a week of sleeping, reading, watching movies and eating delicious home-cooked meals. The trip home also seemed to open the next phase of my life — the one where my friends aren’t necessarily home when I go home, most of my possessions now reside in East Lansing and having my mother do my laundry when I go home may no longer be socially acceptable.

I prepared for this transition into true adulthood by behaving as slovenly as possible, awaking at noon to spend my days reading “The Better of McSweeney’s, Volume 1,” watching (and finishing) season one of “Felicity” on DVD and catching up on new releases from my local Family Video. It was wonderful — for a couple days. But then I became restless from having so much free time.

When my mother suggested I undertake the project of stripping the wallpaper from her bathroom, I welcomed the idea (although, I complained about it a hell of a lot). I was a productive person again, at least for the four hours in took me to peel off most of the paper, sponge on the wallpaper-remover and scrape off the remaining bits of backing. I went shopping at Wal-Mart (an essential Alpenite activity), went to my biannual dentist appointment and got new brakes, a battery and wiper blades for my car. The highlight of my week was likely playing pinochle with my grandparents (Note: Grandpa and I dominated Grandma and my mother, 2-1).

My time in Alpena was equal parts relaxing, nostalgic and surreal.

There were no deadlines, interviews, essays to write or days without setting foot in my kitchen because I have no food in the cupboards. I almost missed that. Not to say I exactly look forward to studying for my next journalism exam, or transcribing my next 40-minute interview, but this college way of life has been my existence for four years.

What will a life without spring break look like? I’m not sure, but I guess that just means it’s all just really beginning.