This last spring break, rather than taking another trip to Florida and lying around on the beach for a week, I decided to mix it up. Don’t get me wrong--spending a week on the beach with your friends or family is a blast [trust me I know]. But college only lasts so long. Before graduation it’s important to cram in as many experiences as you can before you have to become a real person and get a real person job [with limited vacation time]. With this in mind, I convinced two of my best friends to join me and, as soon as spring break hit, we were off. Over the course of six days we visited four cities and went white water rafting in the Smoky Mountains. It was by far one of the best experiences I’ve had thus far and I cannot wait to do it all over again. Here’s a few reasons why YOU should consider taking a road trip too before graduating college:

1. Since you aren’t staying in one place, you aren’t stuck hanging out at your hotel for extended periods of time. This also forces you to get out and explore, especially when you are only staying in a place for one night.
2. Lots of hotels have continental breakfast included aka free waffles. This is something that was lacking when I went to Florida last year for spring break.
3. You don’t need to plan very far ahead, even with hotels. Almost every visitor center along the highway has coupon books full of hotel discounts for all the major cities in the state. Most of the time you can call the day of to make a reservation for that night, giving you the freedom to go literally anywhere on short notice.
4. You experience different ways of living simply by walking around a new city. It's so interesting to see how a variety of people from different parts of the country live and interact with one another.
5. You get to meet people you would probably never encounter otherwise. While on our trip, my friends and I fell into conversation with shop owners, coffee shop goers, locals and fellow travelers, among others.
6. Local boutiques and shops give you great souvenirs and clothes/accessories to bring home that no one else will have, guaranteed.
7. THE FOOD. No, road trips don’t just consist of filling up the car with bags upon bags of fast food wrappers. Trying the best restaurants [in our price range] in town was probably one of my favorite things about our trip.
8. If you’re a part of the FitBit fam, you’ll get so many steps in your friends will be astounded [you’ll also burn off the calories from all the incredible food you’ve eaten].
9. Four words: Hella. Cute. Photo. Ops.
10. Hours upon hours spent in the car prove to be great bonding time with your friends, who knew?
11. Let’s be serious, we all love singing at the top of our lungs in the car with our friends [even if we’re all terrible singers].
12. Regardless of whether you’re in a relationship or single, taking a road trip with friends makes you remember the importance of taking time for yourself.
13. This may sound cliché but you’ll learn a little more about yourself and what makes you happy.
14. Your road trip will be a great conversation topic [read: way to avoid talking about your GPA or love life] when your family asks you about how college is going
15. Vacationing with just a few people means it’s easier to decide on attractions to visit, where to eat and how to spend your time.
16. Doing things on a whim rather than planning every detail of your trip out will make you feel like a free spirit, even if not having a plan usually stresses you out.
17. Because you aren’t in one place for too long, you won’t get bored of doing the same thing every day. A day or two is the perfect amount of time to enjoy a explore a new city [as long as it isn’t a huge city like NYC].
18. You’ll feel like a real person for .5 seconds because you aren’t constantly surrounded by college students [which is both scary and exhilarating].
19. You can literally do whatever you want and go anywhere--the possibilities are endless.

One speeding ticket and almost 1500 miles later, I reluctantly returned home from one of my greatest adventures thus far. On our trip, my friends and I ate some of the best food we've ever tasted. We took embarrassing pictures of each other passed out in the car and laughed so hard we almost cried. We sat on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, took a historic ghost tour in the middle of the night and saw the longest stretch of Live Oaks in the world. I wouldn’t trade the hours upon hours spent in the car for anything and I can’t wait to do it all over again. So next time you’re trying to figure out something fun to do with your friends—whether it’s for spring break or just a long weekend—maybe consider taking a spur of the moment road trip. You won't be disappointed.