There is an age-old tradition that states that college students must hit the beach one week out of the year when the weather starts to get warm and classes are suspended until further noticed. We, as a collective age group, are supposed to lie in the sun and get drunk by day and, then go out and get hammered by night. This tradition is still alive and well in many circles. That's not a problem at all, and, as long as people are safe and smart, I condone the freedom to be a stereotypical college student during Spring Break.
What do students get out of beach week experiences, though? Do people come away with questionable stains on their bathing suits? What about hazy memories and alcohol poisoning? Do they make friendships that may or may not fade in the daylight? “Yes” is the answer to all of the above. Do these byproducts of a week drinking on the beach make students better people? Probably not. This tradition feeds into an idea that makes future employers and many other people label our generation as carefree and lazy. I’m searching for experiences that are going to change my life (and that I can share with my grandmother without blushing).
Don’t worry, though, I plan on being drunk the entire week of Spring Break. I want to get drunk on something other than alcohol, though.
My college requires that every student take either a trip across the globe or a class that fulfills that study abroad requirement. Many students here have mixed feelings about this, and, previously, I was one of those students. I transferred here from a very large school that could not have cared less whether or not students had a cross-cultural experience, so I really could not understand why this concept was so important to such a small college. I was all about that traditional, collegiate stereotype and living out what I thought was the definition of a "true college experience."
I am currently getting ready to embark on my first journey outside of the United States because of the school’s policy. I will be spending nine out of the ten days of my Spring Break in London, England studying Shakespeare, America’s roots, and Harry Potter. I am so excited at this point that I can barely contain all of my nervous energy.
There is so much that I am going to experience on this trip of a lifetime. I hope to, one day, be a high school English teacher, so the things that I am going to see while in London will have an effect on my career and the students in my classroom. I am going to be exploring a whole new world outside of my tiny hometown. Students across the country dream about a vacation like this that will provide a foundation for the rest of their lives, and I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to live out that dream.
I plan on being drunk on life while I am in London. I plan on building relationships with people while I am gone. I want to alter my life just by touching down on another continent. I want to drink in a pub while drinking in the atmosphere of a place where history and culture are swirling around in the air. I want to walk back onto campus in Virginia with two feet in the States and a heart that spans the globe. Partying in Florida sounds like a wonderful trip and part of the “college experience." But I'm looking forward to spending my Spring Break in a place where I can buy a drink outside of my comfort zone. Traditions are meant to be broken, and I’ve always been a fan of peeling off a label.
