When we were in high school, spring break was a time to catch up on Netflix, go on a family vacation, or maybe tour a few colleges. It was a time of relaxation that prepared us for the final home stretch of school-- but in college, it is a completely different story. After months of disorganized planning and anticipation for a week of tans, cool drinks and beautiful people in swimsuits, it was finally time to take over our favorite sunny destination. We designed spring break t-shirts and packed every bathing suit and pair of shorts we owned. We hopped on buses, planes and cars, and made the trek. We had all heard so much about this week which we may or may not remember. We got to our resorts, dropped off our bags, and the adventure began. Within minutes, everything was already a mess. GroupMe blew up. Suitcases had been lost, parking passes or room keys were nowhere to be seen. Everything was chaos. There was no food. Villas were getting kicked out left and right. Nobody could find each other (or their phones). At one point we lost our friend and were convinced she was gone forever. It was like a storm came and destroyed the perfect oasis that we saw in the pictures. It wasn't what we planned. It wasn't like the stories we were told. Suddenly I experienced deja vu. Where had I seen this kind of trauma before? After moments of dwelling and running through my past, I realized this wasn't something I had experienced first hand. I had seen it all on an episode of the survival show, Naked and Afraid.
If you need convincing, here are 20 reasons why college spring break is actually a really dramatic, extended episode of Naked and Afraid.
1. You're practically naked the entire time.
2. You're afraid of everything: cops, security, STD's, drowning.
3. You have no food and must fend for yourself.
4. Your skin is completely fried.
5. Your phone is most likely dead causing you to feel surrounded and isolated from the rest of the world.
6. You are constantly in people's Snapchats and being photographed which is basically like a camera crew following you around.
7. You almost drowned.
8. You haven't slept in days.
9. Your body is covered in bruises.
10. You are constantly barefoot.
11. Your "shower" is going in the water.
12. You lost all your possessions.
13. You have dirt/sand everywhere.
14. You dream of sleeping in your own bed.
15. You eventually become comfortable without wearing actual clothing.
16. When you find food you become incomprehensibly excited.
17. When the food is gone within seconds you are actually depressed.
18. You'll do anything for a cheeseburger.
19. By the end of the trip you look like you were attacked by a bear.
20. You surprisingly do survive (barely).
