ASB is a beautiful mix of uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, forced group bonding and service. What people don’t always realize from outside the ASBubble is that sleeping on the ground can be really good for your back, raspberry jelly can spice up an otherwise tired sandwich, mandatory bonding can be marvelous, and the memories from the lives you touch over the week of ASB are irreplaceable. This year I spent my Spring break in beautiful Beaufort, South Carolina, surrounded by adorable children and the ocean. I got to swing from monkey bars, read children’s books and enjoy the gorgeous palmetto-covered scenery of a state I had never been to before. Besides the fact that one of the students I was working with called me “Meredith” the entire week, it was a great experience. So why do anything else??
Staying at home is for Frosh who miss their Moms or upperclassmen who miss their Mom’s cooking. We get it, the world is scary and returning home makes everything seem smaller and less threatening, but while your friends gain wait over break from their gross overconsumption of beer, you add the extra 5 pounds from cornbread, homemade macaroni and cheese and hours and hours of watching House re-runs. If your response when people ask you what you did over your entire week off of school is “nothing” or “just, you know… hung around,” then you don’t need me to tell you that next year you need to look into better options.
The opposite of staying home, some Spring breakers take the school-free week as an excuse to party on a beach. While fun at the time, it is difficult to deny that the “traditional” Spring break is a really expensive way to only patchily remember a week. Some people think the alcohol and drug-free mantra of ASB is a big ASBummer, but in fact, it’s only the true partiers that take up the ASB challenge. After an entire year’s worth of intense drinking, one’s tolerance reaches a point where it is just too goddamn expense to get drunk anymore. ASB not only lessons the expense of your habit as your body gets to reset, but it proves to your friends every year that you’re not an alcoholic. The rule is not ridiculous it’s refreshing.
Then there are those that stay in Nashville. Visitors to Nashville refer lovingly to the city as Music City, USA, NashVegas, the Athens of the South, Ca$hville, or even the belt buckle of the Bible belt. You know what native Nashvillians call it? Boring. Be more creative with your Spring break next year.
Lastly, there are those that do their own thing. Okay, that’s kind of legit.
