When I was a senior in high school, roughly 75% of my graduating class scheduled a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for spring break. Originally, I had planned on going on this trip with my friends, but given the fact that I had spent every spring break of my life with my grandparents in Naples, I had a change of heart last minute and missed out on the opportunity. At first, I was sad about it, but then I realized I still had all of college to have my fun-filled drunken atmosphere spring break, so why be sad?!

Well, here I am, two years after, and I still haven’t gone on that crazy Mexican spring break adventure. What’s more, at this point in my life I have realized that instead of doing that, I would rather get a close group of friends together, rent out a house, and have a fun-filled, but more cost-efficient spring break that doesn’t result in 6 nights of binge-drinking and 7 days of feeling hungover.

After scrolling through what felt like never-ending snapchat stories of friends and acquaintances on spring break, I came to the realization about a week ago that college spring breaks are extremely overrated, and here’s why:

For starters, I don’t care if you’re 16 or 60, consuming alcohol for roughly 6 days straight at the level that most college students consume it on is not only bad for your health, but also just disgusting. You literally spent hundreds of dollars booking a flight, paying for this all-inclusive resort, and probably purchasing some spring break attire before leaving, and yet all you’re doing is drinking and not taking advantage of anything else while you’re there, which brings me to my next point: money.

I have always considered myself extremely fortunate when it comes to money. My parents are generous, and have always made it clear that if I am working hard at something, they will support me and be a financial back-bone for me when I need it. I can say with confidence that if I wanted to do a spring break trip, my parents would help support me in doing so--a thing I am forever grateful for. Now, whether your parents are like this or believe that you should dip into your savings to afford a trip like this, take a moment and think about whether it’s REALLY worth all the money that’s going to be put into it. It doesn’t matter if it’s your money or your parents' money, the point is, it’s money. If you’re going to spend hundreds of dollars on a trip to go out of the country, why don’t you go somewhere you want to explore or learn more about the culture?

I’m probably going to seem like a total loser and extreme school-aholic, but please, try to think a little bit about what I’m saying here. When you spend all your spring break drinking away the final exams from the previous semester/quarter, or drinking about the fact that you are going to be finishing that year of college so soon, you miss out on one very important thing--the upcoming semester/quarter. I know, I know. I’m such a nerd. No one is going to prepare for their classes over spring break; I get it. Yet, how much better would you feel about having a more laid-back spring break, and being 100% confident that you have everything you need for your upcoming classes, and beyond that, you are caught up on any work that you might have to complete beforehand? My guess is, good.

Lastly, and what I would consider to be the most important aspect of ANY break--relaxation time. I know that even when you go to Mexico there are days when you lay out by the pool or on the beach and soak in the sun, but let’s be honest, the majority of that trip is centered around drinking and snagging some #sunsoakedskin bikini pictures for Instagram. If you go somewhere with a small group of friends where you can just kick back, read a book, and chill in the evenings, you will feel much more rejuvenated for the upcoming semester/quarter, and you may even feel like you got the break you deserve after that dreadful first few months of school.

Maybe I’m a loser because I didn’t go to Cabo. Strangely enough, I’m okay with that because I’m confident in saying that I will most likely never go to Cabo with 30+ kids I know and do nothing but drink for 6 days straight. Spring break is not all about getting hammered and testing whether Americans really can out-drink other cultures.

But hey, if you want a spring break filled with drunken college students, horrible hangovers, and your life-savings halfway spent, then college spring break was practically made for you!