When people think of college, one of the first things that comes to mind is a wild Spring Break trip going to the beach or road tripping with all of the friends you’ve made at school. As a college freshman, I have a theory that these infamous trips – that typically result in added stress rather than relaxation – are overrated.
The Planning Process:
First and foremost, Spring Break trips are not cheap. Not only do you have to plan in advance to save up your money for booking the hotel and traveling, but then you have to save for the trip itself and all the money you will spend on food, souvenirs, and lets be real: alcohol. Yes, you will have a good time, but in reality, you could be having just as much fun with your friends through cheaper alternatives. I won’t even begin to get into the group aspect of planning a trip which involves coordinating schedules, budgets, and any other components that must be compromised.
The Trip Itself:
In theory, spending the week at the beach is relaxing; in actuality, when you are doing this with a group of college kids, it will increase your stress. You may think that you will be spending so much time laying out in the sun and reading some good books, but really you will be trying to come up with plans that you will end up being too drunk or hungover to execute. And lets be real, there is always drama between large groups of people, and this is the perfect scene for tensions to snap.
Back to School:
Before Spring Break you had stressful weeks of midterms, with the plan of getting a relaxing week break off being tarnished with exhausting travel, putting up with your worrisome friends, a lack of individual you-time, and now you are back at school with homework already due and two exams next week. As you sit in class feeling more exhausted than before you left for your “break”, you can’t help but wonder if it was really worth it.
I know that this seems rather stereotypical and won’t apply to all friend groups and college Spring Break trips, but in general at least on of the above will occur and cause more harm than good.
My advice is to brainstorm and plan way in advance, and most importantly, pick a group of friends you actually enjoy and think you can survive a week with, creating as little unnecessary stress as possible. Also, don’t be discouraged if you don’t have any plans or are only have something planned for a small portion of the week. You will be more thankful for this in the long-run as you have created time to recoup and recharge your mental and physical needs before taking on the last bit of another academic year.
As always, never forget to treat yourself with whatever you do. You deserve it.