It started off as a typical night in Mexico for college spring breaker, Paul Hasson. He and his roommate, Michael, went to Daddyo’s, one of the many well-known clubs in Cancun. After leaving the club, the two decided to head back to the Barceló where some friends were staying. They hung out in the hotel villas and continued to drink. “We drank there for a while”, said Paul.

“At this point we were both pretty ‘stimulated’”, he said. (I think what Paul meant is that they were both pretty intoxicated,). Wanting to end his night with room service and his bed, and not wanting to ruin Michael’s night by making him go home, Paul headed back to the Hard Rock Hotel alone. It was then, at about 3:30am, when he started his fifteen-minute quest that took an unexpected turn.

Paul took a residential route to get back. “At this point I was walking diagonal, and stumbling left and right. I’m surprised I even knew where I was going”, said Paul.

“While on the residential street, I saw five men, but didn’t think much of it. I just kept on walking. They were just standing there on the sidewalk.”

As he was walking towards them with his head down, Paul looked up and the five men, who Paul described as middle aged and local, were walking towards him. “The first guy came up and put a small silver gun to my chest, while the other four just casually stood around me.”

“My reaction was speechless. I just froze. I thought I was going to get shot right there”, said Paul. (Paul wants everyone to know that if he wasn’t so “stimulated”, he could have easily taken the five men).

“The guy told me to pull out what I have. I reached in my pocket for my wallet, and held it out in one hand, with my phone in the other. He took my wallet, looked at my phone, said nothing, and then walked away” (probably because Paul owns an android).

“They just kept walking, and I walked the opposite way. At this point I was hiccuping”. (Whatever that means, Paul?) Once he made it down the street and finally away from danger, Paul immediately called his bank and canceled his credit cards.

Safe and unharmed, he made it back to the Hard Rock Hotel.

But don’t worry, readers. The trip wasn’t all downhill from there for gang robbery survivor, Paul Hasson.

The following day, Paul took it easy, and with the help of his buddy, Michael, he was still able to have a good night out. “We got very ‘stimulated’ again, and went out to the club. After the club, we got a cab back to our hotel and watched the sunrise together”, said Paul. (A little odd, but let’s just go with it because the poor boy was robbed for God’s sake).

Then something incredible happened. After watching the sunrise with Michael, at about 7:30am, Paul happened to check his MSU email. He received an message from a guy named TJ who said he had Paul’s wallet, and sent him his phone number. Paul texted the guy immediately. TJ was off visiting ruins that day so he had given the wallet to the taxi driver in which the wallet was found, along with two other wallets that were also stolen. Paul was able to retrieve his wallet, which still had his credit cards, ID, and some cash.

“They left me 10 bucks, so I want it to be noted that they weren’t completely bad people”, said Paul.

There you have it. A story about a “stimulated” boy, and his incredible spring break experience.

Oh, and to TJ from Florida State, Paul said, “If you’re reading this, I love you, I really do. You made my trip”. So Shout out to you, TJ.