Here we are, ladies and gentlemen. The sun is setting on our 10th week of winter term. The dreaded post Martin Luther King holiday/pre Spring Break stretch has almost come to a close. I never thought this day would come. If you’re like me, you spent a good deal of time this term on the floor, curled in the fetal position and humming songs that made you feel good in Middle School between fits of uncontrollable sobbing. Simpler times. But we’re so close to the end, people. Can you taste it?
Now this may shock you, but I’m not a big fan of sentimentality. I laughed when the boat sank in James Cameron’s Titanic. I was 10 years old, and I’m not proud of what I did, but there it is. When I’m trying to say, Emerald readers, is that it was all of you who kept me sane this term. We’ve shared some laughs, been through rough times – we even learned a little. Just being able to take a break from my work and talk mano a mano with my peers was enough to keep me going each day.
But like a steadily increasing number of American marriages, we need some time apart. I’m like a three-legged dog in a fight – weathered and beaten. No doubt many of you feel the same way. It’s in that spirit that the Vacation Gods give us nine (hopefully) sun-filled, school-free days of spring in which to revel.
There are plenty of ways to celebrate the end of a grueling winter term. Drinking heavily is a tried and true outlet. Those ambitious enough, however, will take their borderline alcoholic tendencies overseas and across borders. Canada and Mexico, with their 19 and 18 year old legal drinking ages, respectively, are popular Spring Break hot spots.
For those too patriotic to desert the homeland in a time of war, road trips are another popular choice. There are few feelings better than the camaraderie between friends, cruising down an open stretch of freeway, splitting gas money and telling jokes. Plus, road trips offer a versatile choice of destinations: Beaches, forests, mountains, cities – all are within hours of here. With all these options in front of me, I’ve decided to spend my vacation at the hottest of Spring Break hot spots: home.
It’s not the kind of thing you want to admit to your friends, as explaining how your mom stocks the stack cabinet stopped constituting as bragging around the seventh grade. Still, there’s a certain comfort to the idea that home is waiting for you should you ever need it. College is the last stop before the real world. Not many employers are going to give you a week off because you miss mom’s spaghetti.
This weekend is Saint Patrick’s Day. Never mind that finals are next week; how often do bar patrons get to cite cultural awareness as a reason for ordering their third pitcher? To put it in other words, it’s going to be on like Donkey Kong. The same goes for the weekend after finals. By that Sunday, I’m going to be ready for some TV movies and my brother’s Xbox 360.
What it all comes down to, when you look at it carefully, is release. Winter can play tricks with your head if you don’t take the right steps to keep it on straight. But the light at the end of the tunnel is almost blinding. The fact that you’re still here and coherent is a testament to your perseverance. Give yourself a pat on the back. Whether you spend your vacation eating, sleeping, drinking, partying – whatever your plans – be safe, and know that you deserve it. It’s been a hell of a term.
[email protected]