During Spring Break season, you might have noticed the surge of backpackers wandering around Thailand for a couple of weeks. You might even have seen an MTV program where there are scantily clad young ladies and beer-slamming young men living it up at beautiful beaches. And you might have been wondering what’s up with all this madness.

It’s all started back in the 19th century when the well-off students took some time off school to visit a mineral spring to relax. With the advent of cars and establishment of colleges for women, the practice of a road trip was born. It was an opportunity for both the guys and girls to mingle and to enjoy some time off from school. It was all picnics and socializing back then.

The Spring Break as we came to know it today started in the 60s when the movie “Where the Boys Are” popularized the epic journey of college men and women to the shores of Ford Lauderdale, Florida, for fun, sun, and true love. Since then, college students have found their way to more tropical destinations for good times.

Alcohol and other drugs made their ways into the festivities of Spring Break during the late 60s and 70s. And unfortunately, they never really left. In the past 20 years, the happening scenes of Spring Break may have included more athletic and outdoor activities, but still they have been nothing less of an endless bikini party where alcohol is always flowing, romantic potentials are everywhere, and the fun never seems to stop.

If partying with thousands of drunken students is not your cup of tea, there is another option to have fun with Spring Break. Almost every college campus has a volunteer center, and that center should offer something called Alternative Spring Break. This program places teams of students in communities to engage in community service and learn about issues such as literacy, poverty, racism, hunger, homelessness, and the environment. Their activities range from assisting in building a house for a family in need, teach children on Indian Reservation, to clean up beaches. The intensity of the experience increases the likelihood that participants will transfer the lessons learned on-site back to their own communities even after the alternative break ends. You pay for the minimum fees to cover the basics, just like you would to a road trip. You still get to make new friends, and have clean and sober fun. At the same time you are helping out the community and learning something new.

Even when there is Alternative Spring Break offered, to parents’ dismay and concerns, we must face the fact that some students would take the path of good ol’ American traditions and head for the beaches for bikinis and booze. I’m not encouraging anyone to drink their brains out, but I’m not saying you shouldn’t experience the break with your friends. I would say that please keep the following suggestions in mind.

• First of all, you MUST be over 21 years old to consume alcohol in the U.S., and over 18 to smoke. It is illegal for underage drinking and smoking, and the cops are dead serious about giving you tickets and making arrest. Always carry your driver’s license or passport with you.
• The most important rule of all, NEVER drink and drive. If you touch a drink, you don’t get in behind the wheels. Period. Driving Under Influence (DUI) is a serious matter here. And along that note, NEVER ride with someone who has been drinking. Always have a designated driver, and when you don’t, call a taxicab.
• NEVER mix alcohol with medication or any other intoxicants.
• This one is especially important for the ladies, NEVER accept food or drinks from strangers. Get your own drinks and your own food. Another important point for the ladies is that in an unfamiliar territory such as this, make sure to have at least one friend with you at all time. Boys get rowdy when they’re drunk, and in an environment like Spring Break, you just never know. Trust no one, girls.
• Finally, it is extremely important to be strong and not succumb to peer pressure. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, and let your friends hate you for sticking with your principle.

It is up to you to choose how you want to spend your Spring Break. You can party your break away. You can make the world a little bit better. You can recoup from the tough semester. Or you can catch up with whatever you haven’t gotten time to finish.

All that’s said and done, the bottom line is to treasure your break because this is the last one until summer rolls around. Choose wisely, and be safe!

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