So you’re out of school for the week. Delaware’s spring break started after classes Friday, and now you’re wondering what other people are doing. Perhaps this is your first spring break, and you want to know some other options for next year besides being at home. Maybe it’s your last, and you are just enjoying time with no school. Whatever the case, here are some of the common spring break options. My colleagues on this blog have already covered several related topics, so be sure to check those out.
Option 1—the beach
One always-popular option is to take several of your close friends, a bathing suit, and head down to the beach. This year, for whatever reason, Panama City Beach (in Florida, not Panama, interestingly enough) is a very popular destination. Over 1,000 UD students signed up to go, according to a Delaware student representative for a travel company. Presumably many of those students are seniors hoping to enjoy “one last hurrah” before graduation.
Option 2—alternative spring break
Delaware has several non-traditional options for students who aren’t in to partying or want to see new things and help others. The alternative spring breaks students can choose from include a trip to Mississippi to work on oil spill relief projects, a journey to Washington D.C. to help homeless school children, a trip to New Orleans to help in the continuing Katrina recovery, an excursion to North Carolina to help the area in relief efforts for Sandy, and finally, a collaboration with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for the poor. These are all fantastic options. Delaware usually announces the trips about six months ahead of time, so if you are interested by any of these, start looking out for the upcoming options come September.
Option 3—travel
Many people like to use spring break to go somewhere they normally would not. Perhaps you and your family decide to go visit New York City or Washington D.C. Maybe several of your friends and you opt to travel to somewhere you have never been but have always wanted to go, such as Chicago.
Options 4—staying home
This is what I am doing. Though it’s not particularly exciting, it is nice to just spend time with family and friends and enjoy not having any (well, much) work for a week. This works really well if the weather is nice, so you are not stuck inside, and if your friends from home are on break the same week. Some students who live off campus choose to just stay in their houses or apartments there, rather than returning home. That works too.
There are a lot of things you can do in this week-long period of no school. Hopefully you have some ideas and can continue to enjoy your break.
~Matthew Bittle
