When hearing the words “spring break," most people typically envision drunk college students heading to the beaches to cause trouble for a week before returning to their colleges to finish out the rest of the school year.
Every year, spring break seems to come with more consequences. More students are injured or hospitalized, more careless accidents happen and more arrests. This rising trend has caused popular spring break destinations to declare their beaches sober during the months of March and early April. Panama City Beach, Florida made this decision month ago, and just two days ago Gulf Shores, Alabama decided to enact a similar policy on their beaches for the remainder of the spring break season, following a very rough start this year.
When making my spring break plans, I decided I wanted a chance to relax and forget about the stressful semester I was having. Following time spent in the hospital and months of being sick, staying at a smaller beach in Florida with three of my best friends sounded like the perfect choice.
Instead of spending the little money that broke college students like us have on alcohol, we made some awesome memories. We went to the zoo and had the opportunity to feed baby giraffes, and meet many other animals up close.
No drinking meant no hangovers, so we were able to wake up every day and spend a full day doing as we chose, even though most of our time was spent laying on the beach all day.
Being sober, we didn’t have to go through the struggle of having to stay in one place all day, or call every person in our contacts list to find a ride. If we wanted to go get dinner, or go to the next town over to visit friends, or spend an afternoon shopping, we didn’t have to rely on anyone else, or pay for a taxi.
Most importantly, I got an entire week to spend with my closest friends. With all the craziness of college, we sometimes get lost in our own responsibilities on campus and don’t get to see each other that often.
Spending a sober week with my best friends was the perfect spring break, one I will definitely choose again.
