Making it Through the Week: Spring Break
It’s that time of the semester, when the sun starts to shine and campus is heaving with hammocks, ultimate frisbee games and students indulging in iced Starbucks drinks. We spend our days on Old Main lawn with friends, and our evenings pulling all-nighters in Mullins Library, pulling our hair out over the three-page vocabulary list for that upcoming chemistry test.
Right now, campus is bustling with excitement and anticipation, and students only have two words on their mind this week – spring break.
Spring break is only three days away, and I’m willing to guess that all of us are ready for a break from campus and classes – both students and faculty alike. Whether you are heading to the beach or staying in Fayetteville, it’s definitely time for a relaxing week away from test preparations, papers and projects.
However, it seems that there is a great divide among students on campus over whether heading to the beach or heading home is a better plan for the seven days away from class.
For those of us heading to a big beach party, what you see is what you get. Think sun, sand and a hefty amount of alcohol consumption. South Padre Island and Panama City Beach will soon be plagued with Razorback students who will undoubtedly be partaking in the typical spring break festivities. Note, if you aren’t ready to party non stop for the break, you may want to change your flight itinerary.
Alternately, those students who are staying in Fayetteville for the break (myself included), it’s important not to get bogged down with the prospect of not hitting the beach full force this March. Whether it’s to work or simply because leaving town doesn’t intrigue you, staying in Arkansas doesn’t have to equate to a boring break.
There are plenty of things to do in Northwest Arkansas, whether it’s hiking at Devils Den, spending time with friends or simply relaxing at home and catching up on some much-needed sleep. Not to mention, there are hundreds of day trips that are inexpensive and much more low-key than a big spring break trip.
It’s important to note that however we choose to spend our time off school in the upcoming week, we should use these last few days to buckle down in the classroom, to ensure a successful rest of the semester. Heading to your favorite spring break spot might hit the spot for a week of paradise, but it’s highly unlikely that our grades will hold the same sentiment if we don’t get our class work done now.
If we spend this week pre-partying for our time away, we’re only setting ourselves up for a mountain of homework to do on our break, or an awfully hectic workload when we return to Fayetteville.
Choosing to take advantage of the time before spring break to crack open the books and prepare for projects and tests in advance can only ensure that our spring break, wherever it takes place, will be fun, relaxing and without a paper in sight.
Whether you are hitting the beach or hitting the hay for break this semester, it’s important not only to have fun, but to be safe and responsible while doing so.
There is nothing wrong with having a little fun during our week off school, but we should remember what we are here for – a degree. By taking the time to get caught up or even get ahead in our classes this week, we can make sure to have the best spring break without ruining our report cards completely.
Wherever your travels take you next week, be safe, have fun and keep your classroom attendance up this week to ensure a great break and an even greater rest of year.
Emily Rhodes is a journalism major, and the opinion editor of the Traveler.
Her column appears every other Monday.
