Spring break: Expectations vs. reality

How did yours stack up?

Spring break has come and gone, but the memories are still fresh in our minds. Before Spring Break happens, it is always expected to be a week of nothing but peace and serenity – right? Ehh, some would and definitely should argue that.

Spring break, much like Christmas or a birthday celebration, are typically hyped in one’s mind to be an extraordinary and epic event, when in reality we all tend to sink back into our same daily habits even on the break.

We all tell each other little lies going into spring break in hopes of becoming the successful people we know we are capable of, but somehow that always seems to fall a little short.

EXPECTATION: You’ll get ahead in your homework for the semester.

It’s an entire week where you know exactly what work you have to do and can get done, of course you’re going to take the minimal free time you have to get ahead of your work so you can be more relaxed the following week.

REALITY: You somehow end up behind in your homework even though you didn’t have classes.

You were under the assumption that no school meant no schoolwork but oh how wrong you were – homework doesn’t stop for anyone.

EXPECTATION: You’re going to work on your tan.

Instead of being locked up in the library for most of your daylight hours, you have nothing but time to enjoy the switching into spring weather where the sun is out and yours to bask in.

REALITY: You stay indoors most of the week on a Netflix binge.

I mean, your laptop could get outside so you could watch Netflix AND tan, but the wifi is pretty weak outside of your bedroom and you always run the risk of your laptop overheating, so it’s really just safe to stay inside.

EXPECTATION: You’re not going to sleep in, you don’t want to waste a minute of your week.

You will get the perfect amount of sleep – eight hours each night to make up for everything you lost while studying for your midterms but not too much that you don’t leave time for activities.

REALITY: You sleep in past noon every day.

Setting an alarm during spring break sounds like the worst possible thing to ever happen to you, so you decide against it. Of course, staying up until 3am every night watching Netflix doesn’t really ensure you’ll be up and about early, so it’s really a never ending cycle of being non-productive.

EXPECTATION: You’re going to eat healthy.

From the stress eating of midterms to the overall unhealthy drinking/eating habits that come along with being a college student, it is easy to get wrapped up in the easier lifestyle which is to treat your body like a garbage can. However, this spring break you have nothing but time to try out those Pinterest recipes that are all low cal, low carb, low gluten and low pretty much everything.

REALITY: You eat like absolute garbage.

Pretty much everything that enters your mouth is high cal, high carb, high sugar, high garbage. You try your hardest to eat healthy, but it is so expensive and takes so much effort. Plus, tacos are delicious. Depriving yourself of tacos is cruel and unusual punishment. Also, your drinking habits worsen a little bit more every day over spring break.

EXPECTATION: You’re going to get in shape.

During school it is almost impossible to make time for yourself to relax let alone get a full and great workout in. But with all the time you will have over spring break, there is no excuse but to get yourself to all those work out classes you have been promising yourself you’d get to.

REALITY: You barely get off the couch to walk to the kitchen let alone go to the gym.

Alright, it has been established that binge watching TV comes with the spring break territory. It would be extremely inaccurate to assume that you could actively watch your show with full attention while doing it at the gym – that would just be preposterous. What an offensive notion.

EXPECTATION: You’ll have a spring break fling like people do all the time in movies.

In every movie about spring break, everyone seems to fall in love. If you watch any Nicholas Sparks film, it appears to only take two weeks for someone to fall head over heels madly in love which means one week is enough to warrant a casual fling that you’ll be able to tell your grandkids about.

REALITY: You watch multiple movies where the characters have spring break flings.

Did you know Netflix got new movies and get new movies uploaded every week? Well, there are certainly some amazing choices about couples who fall in love on the beach during spring break. It’s much easier to watch it than put in effort to make it happen to yourself. Plus, it takes over a week to learn to trust your the Starbucks barista that is making your coffee, how are you supposed to actually trust someone you meet over spring break in that length of time. Be realistic, Nicholas Sparks.

EXPECTATION: You won’t let Netflix consume your life.

You will not. You will not. You will not.

REALITY: You let Netflix consume your life.

You did. You did. Oh how you did. How could you do that? And yes, Netflix you’re still watching just play the next episode. There should be a “Do Not Show Me This Again” option for that feature.

EXPECTATION: It will be an epic week that you will never forget.

Do you remember that horrible movie starring James Franco and a bunch of girls from the Disney Channel called ‘Spring Breakers’? Well of course you don’t want to end up like those girls, killing a bunch of people while wearing bikinis but you do want to live the motto of the film “Spring break forever” to the fullest. It’s where you can be crazy, where you can relax, where you can just live. Spring break forever.

REALITY: You’ll probably forget most of the week.

So much of your week is spent sleeping that you lose most of your hours to the Sandman. The rest of your hours are spent watching TV and stuffing your face with everything in sight. A part of you may want to forget most of the week.

EXPECTATION: You’re finally going to relax and have time to yourself.

One week of nothing but you time – what a dream.

REALITY: You end up busier this one week than you’ve been all semester doing all the errands you don’t normally have time to do.

Dentist, doctor, oil change, laundromat, etc. Somehow these things pile up and you have exactly one week to get them done before you’re back to your schedule that doesn’t allow you time to do any of these things.

The only advice every student should take for spring break this year is to enjoy yourself because in a week, you’ll have to snap back to reality. Spring break forever.

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