Spring break has always been one of my favorite weeks in the year. There really isn’t anything quite like traveling to a new, exciting place (preferably warm) and getting to take a break from the complications of daily life. I’ve always been lucky in that my family loves to travel and go on awesome vacations. Yet, when I came to UGA I knew that I had to leave my family behind and experience a true college spring break.

My freshman year of high school I went to Turks and Caicos with my mom, dad, and brother. It was a great vacation. We stayed in a beautiful resort, ate awesome food and just relaxed. It was definitely the tamest spring break I’ve ever had. The most thrilling thing I did was stay at the resort by myself while the rest of the family went on a snorkeling excursion.

Fast forward four years to my freshman year of college, where I found myself in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Before coming to college I never would’ve thought that I’d be vacationing in Alabama, but I guess there is a first for everything. I decided to go to Gulf Shores for the experience. Staying in a house with around 50 members of my pledge class and being at the beach with thousands of other college students really isn’t an event that happens more than once. When I compare my time in Gulf Shores to my vacation in Turks the only similarities present are that I wore a bathing suit and had a view of the ocean from my bedroom window.

In Turks and Caicos we spent the day quietly sitting by the pool or swimming in the clear blue ocean. In Gulf Shores we sat by the pool or on the beach drinking and party hopped to different houses. On vacation with my family there was turndown service and a mini bar. In Gulf Shores I shared a bed with four other girls and stashed snacks in my suitcase. In Turks we ate fresh fish and took advantage of an extensive breakfast buffet. In Gulf Shores my diet consisted of peanut butter and breakfast bars. The beaches in Turks and Caicos were vast and pristine. The beach at Gulf Shores was crawling with people and littered in beer cans.

When I compare the two vacations, on paper Turks and Caicos is the clear winner, but Gulf Shores was a spring break I’ll always remember (even if there are parts that I would rather forget). While my time in Turks and Caicos was definitely an ideal vacation, Gulf Shores was an ideal experience, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I can’t say that I am dying to return to Alabama any time soon, but I am definitely glad that I went. This year, however, I’ll be looking forward to returning to a resort with clean rooms and three meals a day.