“I can’t believe that we would lie in our graves, dreaming of things that we might have been,” sang the Dave Matthews Band.
These lyrics ring true as most of us say goodbye to Big Rapids and depart on our spring break adventurers this week. The spring break college trip is almost a rite of passage before graduation and one of the most unique experiences any college student can have. It is not so much the parties and the warmer weather that attracts me, but the idea of doing something different. It is the idea of taking chances and seeing what the world has to offer.
Throughout our school career, the routine has been to get up, go to work or class, and then go home and do homework. Besides being taught new material, the basic structure for school has stayed the same. Even the classroom setting is the same with the teacher lecturing in front of a PowerPoint presentation. This whole process stifles our creativity and hinders our ability to adapt to new ideas.
With Big Rapids not being a big city, it is quite easy for us to get worn out with our surroundings very quickly. A lot of people use spring break to recharge before the stress of finals emerges. Students need a break from the routine we often find ourselves in throughout the semester.
Ferris prides itself on learning by doing and what better way than to travel half way across the country to a new destination? It may not be a new culture that we are immersed in, but different surroundings force us to think and not simply go through the motions.
I believe college should be more spontaneous because it gives you an opportunity to do something you may not have a chance to do later in life. After college, the typical theory is to get a house, settle down, and have kids. Even though I do want kids, I am enjoying my ability to drop everything and do something at a moment’s notice.
Warren Miller, a legendary ski and snowboarding movie producer, snuck advice into every movie he made. He would always talk about certain ski resorts in different parts of the country and he made sure to tell us that if we don’t go this year, we will be one year older when we do. One year older may not be so bad, but if you continually put it off, it might be too late. I hope that even though work may get stressful, I can forget about everything and take a small trip because if I put it off, I may never get the chance.
Money restrictions are always a valid reason to say no to a trip, but as poor college students, we know how to get the most out of our money. Staying with family and friends, packing food before, and traveling with a group to save on gas are just a few ways to get more for your money. Money may be tight, but with the restricted cash flow, there shouldn’t be a reason to not go at least somewhere.
So over the next week, relax and take a break from the routine of your daily lives and live a little. You never know what to expect. The most important thing to remember is that at the end of our life, are we going to sit around and wonder what could have been? n