As a college student, especially a freshman, Spring Break is all the hype. Hotels and houses are booked out months in advance, and all second semester it is the week counted down to. The majority of my friends wanted to spend their week at the beach, but I live so close to Destin and I wanted to do something I had never done before. I heard about Ole Miss Student housing sponsoring an Alternative Break that would spend three days in Las Vegas and three days in the Grand Canyon. I had never been to either location, so with fingers crossed, I applied.

When I recieved my acceptance email, I was not sure exactly what I had gotten into. I remember walking in to our first meeting and looking around at the fourteen students, four grad assistants, and two staff members I would be spending a week with. We differed in nationalities, age, race, personalities, sexualities, religions, involvement and aspirations; honestly, my first thought was that we would never make it a week together. But through our weekly meetings, I began to realize that though we were each diverse in our own ways, our similarities were stronger than any of those differences: we all had a zeal for life, for people, for the University of Mississippi, and for community. With each passing week leading up to Alternative Break, I grew to know these people. After spending last week with them, I am proud and privileged to call them my friends.

We had the chance to collaborate with both Three Square and Clean the World where we packed 10,000 meals for students with food insecurity and sorted through thousands of hotel soaps that would be sanitized and recycled. I think we all agreed on how both opportunities opened our eyes to how wasteful we can be as a society. When we weren't volunteering, we walked the strip, took in the lights, enjoyed a Cirque du Soleil show, and even suspended thousands of feet over the city at the Stratosphere. As great as Vegas was, it does not even compare to the second leg of our trip - the Grand Canyon.

There aren't enough words to accurately describe the emotions evoked while at the Grand Canyon. Sitting on a peak, watching the sun sink behind the canyon is truly something you just have to experience with your own eyes, and no pictures could ever do the canyon stars justice. Standing on a rock, looking down at the thousands of feet under your toes is exhilarating. It made me want to live every moment like its my last; it made me crave the adventure. Everything about the Grand Canyon was absolutely breathtaking, but it was the people that I traveled with who really impacted me this week. Oh, sure it was tough at times. Sharing the back of the van with three other people, shivering in our sleeping bags in 30 degrees, taking down our tent at 4am, cooking dinner over a fire in the dark, the 8 minute campground showers, and hiking back up Bright Angel Trail were definitely challenges I am not accustomed to. With that being said, I believe experiences like that are where we can really learn about ourselves. We learned to work together and encourage each other, leaving no one behind ever. We saw that when everyone pitches in (no tent pun intended), the hard times become fun times.

We knew that cell service would be bad at the canyon, and originally I was not overly thrilled at the idea of taking a break from my phone. Unplugging from the busy buzz of life turned out to be so refreshing. Without being tuned in to all my friends and life back in Oxford, it was easier to connect with my new Alternative Break community. We had the time to share stories and tidbits that often times, even really close friends, don't even know. Things like everyone's first kiss, worst date ever, and favorite Disney characters were silly at first, but in actuality it was in those moments that brought us together. Friendships were formed through things like card games in the dark, hiding in the camp bathroom for warmth, and harmonizing to Spotify in the 15 passenger van. While hiking alongside each other in the canyon, we would share about things like family, hobbies, and life goals. We enjoyed our meals without the distraction of technology, and at night we huddled around a campfire sharing smores and laughter. We were genuinely intrigued by each other, and many questions were asked. Our differences were respected and they usually led us into new, sometimes tough, conversations. With certain new friends, things like religion and politics were brought up and for the first time in a very long time, I felt like it was okay to be vulnerable in conversation.

I saw so much of who I wanted to be in this group. They are passionate, intelligent, driven, accepting, and they embrace who they are without hesitation. I realized that the conversations we had on this trip are the types of conversations that need to be happening every day on campus, in our homes, in our workplaces, and in our government buildings. It is people like the twenty individuals I was with that are going to go out and change the world. Before this trip, I was too quick to make assumptions based off of what I saw or maybe didn't see, but people are too amazing to do that. When we hold opinions about others before getting to know them, we are only hurting ourselves. Taking the time to branch outside of our own friend groups, and get to know the people around us is a blessing. I realized that I want to spend a lot less time on my screen and much more time genuinely getting to know those around me. So put down your phones, make some new friends, and take the time to learn someone's story; it is more rewarding that you could ever imagine. It is so necessary that we become more embracing, understanding, inclusive, and for goodness sake - more loving. I am so thankful for a university, an alternative spring break, and the twenty amazing people who have shown me the person that I want, and need, to be.