It’s that time of year again here at the illustrious Indiana University. The sun is coming out, the snow is melting and the constant scowl people sport all winter is beginning to fade.
Yes, this past week was the beloved spring break.
Like many people on this campus, I departed Bloomington to find my ideal vacation. For the past four years I’ve been too poor to actually go anywhere.
But this year, I carefully budgeted and saved up, and it was finally time for me to relax in the Colorado ?Flatirons.
And while I certainly was not looking forward to the drive out there, or the horrendous one back, this whole experience has gotten me thinking about how important it is to take far-away vacations like the one I’ve been planning for the past few months.
As college students, we live in an extremely fortunate time where getting from one end of the country to the other is not only relatively cheap, but extremely easy if you have access to a car. I won’t tell you specifics, but about four months of budgeting my paychecks saved up more than enough to finance my vacation ?comfortably.
Did I have to eat a lot of ramen in that time period? You better believe it, but it was completely and entirely ?worth it.
And aside from how cheap a vacation can be if you plan it correctly, I am a firm believer in the idea that spring break vacations are an absolutely necessary part of the college experience.
As college students, we have been afforded this wonderful opportunity of a week of free time during the spring. We have also been afforded the opportunity of being old enough to drive 1,100 miles across the country, while also being young enough to have the energy and lack of responsibility to do just that.
Of course, your college vacation doesn’t have to be as far away as mine, but my point is that this is a very crucial moment in our lives. Very soon we will graduate from IU with mortgages and kids and failed dreams to worry about.
We won’t be able to forget all our cares and worries for ?a week.
Regardless of where you chose to go, whether it was Panama City Beach or the Smoky Mountains, it’s important to actually go somewhere new. It should be somewhere special, where you can learn about a place that is completely different from the one you’re used to living in all the time.
I guess my point is that college is such a special, short time in our lives. I understand things can get hectic in college, especially when working while being a full-time student. It’s about as hard as one can imagine.
But we should still make efforts to take advantage of this time in our lives.
Maybe your vacation is in the mountains like mine, or maybe it’s on some sandy shore on the other side of the world. Either way, take the effort to invest in future ?memories.
They’re priceless.
kevsjack@indiana.edu
