My friend Mike shared the best news a college student looking forward to spring break could ever hope to hear. He said he was getting some friends together to go on a cruise to Jamaica.
“Want to come with?” Did he really have to ask? Of course I said yes, and immediately went online to check out the Carnival Cruise Web site so I could see what room I’d be paying for. I fell in love with the idea that for the first time in my four years of college, I’d finally be going on a legitimate spring break trip. I was looking forward to a tropical getaway, a fun week of relaxation and good times with my friends. Shopping, tanning and swimming. I would also be drinking a tropical drink responsibly, reenacting a Corona commercial.
A few days later one of Mike’s friends, who was going to be my cabin roommate, backed out. That meant that my trip was in jeopardy. If I didn’t have a roommate I would have to pay around $1,000. Option “B” was to find a new roommate in about three hours. I failed. Seeing my grand plans for a tropical getaway fall apart within a few hours was not a fun time. I started thinking about all the aforementioned fun I was going to
miss out on.
That’s when I started getting these images. Herds of college students screaming, girls half naked in bathing suits all, with alcoholic beverages in hand. Men groping drunken girls, sloppy make out sessions among strangers, liquor being poured into the mouths of young people “living it up.” Glazed eyes, slurred speech, and many life mistakes. That wasn’t entirely what I thought my spring break would be like, even though I did assume that would be part of the scenery. However, I feel the stereotyped images are understandable because this was my vision of what spring break was like since I was in middle school Thanks to spring break specials on MTV and VH1, I feel many individuals probably get similar visions.
Spring break doesn’t have to be that wild of a week. With the pent up excitement and anxiety knowing that the semester is about halfway over and summer is near, I can understand why some young adults take spring break to that level. Just Google spring break and the images are so typical: bikinis and booze.
But the most important thing to remember during spring break is that the consequences of high consumptions of alcohol and one night stands can lead to bad souvenirs including an STD or even a baby. Whether one is actually able to go on a tropical vacation, stay in the Hampton Roads area or something else, remember that it is best to know one’s limits. Just because it is spring brea doesn’t mean one has to drink an extra amount of alcohol that could possibly cause the need for a stomach pump. And if wherever one has his or her spring break is flooded with sexy singles, remember to us a condom.
