Chances are, the people around you are talking about the incredible things they did over winter break. When it’s your turn to say what you did, your stomach fills with dread. All you did, on the other hand, was sit and watch Netflix. To avoid talking about your uneventful break, here are some things to say instead. 

“It was relaxing”

Presumably, this won’t be a lie. Using your break to relax after a semester at UC Berkeley is a good use of your time — some may even say admirable, too. This should help ensure that people don’t ask anymore about your break.

“Tell me more about your vacation”

If you would rather say as little as possible about what you did, then misdirection is your best friend. For the most part, people enjoy talking about themselves. This can get them going on and on about their own wonderful vacation. After finishing their full recap, they might have just forgotten that they asked you about yours. 

“Not much, but it was a good break from that one stressful class we shared”

This is a mixture of the first two methods. You can misdirect the conversation while also not admitting that you did nothing. Now you can start talking about the stress from your past class, and through all that complaining, you’ll both forget that you were talking about your winter vacations to begin with.

“It was too short”

If you don’t actually want to hear more about your friend’s vacation or haven’t actually taken a class with that friend, the previous two excuses aren’t going to work. It’s a little more universal to not want to be back at school, so bemoaning that break is over should be a nice distraction.

“I did what I wanted”

This is to the point, confident and possibly a little mysterious. Hopefully it isn’t a lie, so it has that going for it. It may lead to some unwanted questions, however. So, be sure to have a plan to move on or have some vague descriptions ready to not get caught by any annoying questions.

There’s no shame in not having an interesting break; sometimes it’s good to just recharge. These tips are here to help you avoid any shame, but if you just want to embrace your uneventful break, you’re free to do so. Be confident and remember: In the end, it’s just some awkward small talk.