The Skinny on Spring Break

Alyssa Dombrowski
Alpha Phi

It's Feb. 1, and although Michigan still sucks, us lucky Ohio folk are now in the thick of the dreariest, coldest and most inconvenient quarter of the entire school year.  During the desolate months of January through March, there seems to be a direct correlation between inches of snowfall and a college student's motivation to do anything but sit on the couch and gorge on Insomnia Cookies.  I know this because I am writing this article after awaking from a night of doing just that.

In our never-ending battle against seasonal depression, a beacon of light emits from the thought of sun, sand and the copious amounts of booze that await us on the paradise that is spring break.  While we endure the horrible suffering of staying in on a Thursday night, we may find refuge in the fact that we will soon be frolicking on a beach filled with 300+ people who may or may not be responsible for the spread of the swine flu.

Whether you're journeying to the white sands of Cancun, Mexico, or the Atlantic shores of Daytona, Florida such as myself, spring break is bound to be an amazing time spent with some of your very best friends.  Free from the perils of cramming for finals in classes that we only attended once all quarter, we have an entire week to do nothing but live similar to the professionally-doomed cast of "The Real World."

Aside from getting tan, spending an unreasonable amount of money we don't have and bidding a permanent adieu to any fragment of our dignity we had left, spring break means one thing: bathing suits. The days of one-pieces have been over since before Lance Bass came out of the closet.  These days, rocking a cute bathing suit is everything-- meaning nearly full exposure of our snow-white bodies that we have spent most of winter quarter destroying with late night Canes trips.

In a rare occasion, my pal Danielle Hixenbaugh took a break from Facebooking about how many miles she ran the previous day to provide some food for thought- why do we have to lose weight for spring break? Can't we all just embrace our extra baggage?  The commencement of a new year already overcrowds the gyms with resolution-ers who will last a month, tops.  Once this cycle has ended, however, comes the spring break-ers in their attempt to avoid a mid-quarter pudge crisis.

My own quest to shape up for spring break via the Insanity DVDs has certainly been plagued by many hindrances (and by hindrances I mean laziness).  Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to look flawless for a group of 40 of our friends who are all far too familiar with the flaws we do have?

The answer is simple: last year's pictures. Supermodels. The newest pledge class that hasn't yet suffered the effects of habitual 2 a.m. Apollo's trips.

This is a call to men and women alike to stop stressing about the perfect spring break body.  Of course, it's in our best interests to work out as much as possible, but crash dieting or not eating at all are both temporary and unhealthy (and let's be honest, our bodies will need to be in tip-top shape for what we're about to put them through).

The months leading up to our highly anticipated trips should be those of eagerness and excitement, not starvation and anxiety.  No matter where your tropical destination may be, there are many important aspects of the trip far more worthy of our time and energy.  Case in point: what makes for a better day raging playlist- Hall and Oates or the ever-classy B. Spears?

I would like to conclude this article by saying that I can't wait for spring break... too bad it's still snowing outside.

Alyssa is a junior studying strategic communications and Spanish. You may contact her at dombrowski.24@gmail.com.