What is college without spring break? Would a semester without any such break be as rad? No, it would not. Sun, sand and sloppy behavior are pretty much the calling cards of this week-long vacation, and it’s pretty rare to hear of anyone bypassing these activities for the fairly new, “alternative spring break.” Over the week of March 17-23, 50 college students became the exception and participated in mtvU and United Way’s “Spring Fix,” giving up their precious warm weather time to fix the northeast shoreline devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Considering this collegiette had never even hung a picture frame by herself, the task of restoring homes seemed a bit daunting. But after arriving, getting to know my team (Go Killer Whales!), and speak with the families that my work was immediately helping things got a lot easier. Perspective helped my aching body get out of bed each morning, motivated me to hold tools I’d never held and convinced me that my three layers of clothing would keep me warm against temperatures lower than most southerners would tolerate.
The little things are definitely what kept me and my team going. Things like hot chocolate breaks, singing along with our contractor Jim (his Adele is impressive), and seeing personal belongings strewn out across land that was once a family’s home served as fuel to get the job done. Working alongside MTV reality stars like cast members from Jersey Shore, The Real World: Portland, and World of Jenks showed me and my fellow Spring Fixers that we aren’t the only ones that still care about these communities. More importantly, all of our collective efforts reminded millions of people that there is still work to be done along the coast. Everyone I spoke with at Spring Fix seemed to want the same message sent out: We’ll be back.