SD for SB 2K15

JULIANA CURTIS

OPINION EDITOR

@julianacurtis28

As I watched everyone else pack their bags, find their passports, and deplete their savings accounts while preparing for this year’s spring break, I could not have been happier that I was not joining them. Although I love to travel and have utilized spring break as a time to do so in the past, I have completely changed my stance this year on USD spring break.

Spring breaking in San Diego is one of the best ideas I have had all semester. Not only was it completely free, but also it was surprisingly entertaining and packed with adventure. I’ll admit, my original plan was to join the masses and trek down to Cabo for the week, but with my plans falling through and a strong desire not to return home to miserably hot Arizona for the week, my roommates and I landed on the decision to just stay put.

Initially we thought that our spring break would be a rather relaxing one, passing the time lying out by the pool or getting ahead on our schoolwork, but we were wrong. A surprising amount of people had the same idea to stay in San Diego for the week, possibly because many students are also preparing for the gigantic hit about to wreck our bank accounts, a.k.a. studying abroad. Others would just rather hide out here than go home for a hectic holiday weekend with family.

However, the most inspiring people stayed because they wanted to take advantage of San Diego when their days were not full of class, work, and various other obligations. There are so many amazing aspects of this city – whether those are the hikes, beaches, and trails that nature has given us or the restaurants, clubs, and attractions of the city – that us students do not usually get to experience due to our jam-packed schedules.

Because so many other students decided to stay, San Diego was not the quiet, deserted place I expected it to be, but rather a fun atmosphere shared with fellow students and spring breakers from other schools. However, I do wish that more of my classmates had joined the fun.

Not only did I save hundreds of dollars, effort, and drama, but it also allowed me to fall more in love with San Diego than I was before. By exploring new places and meeting new people, I was able to make new memories in unexpected places around San Diego that I can now recall, and hopefully recreate, in my remaining years at USD.

I encourage anyone that is tired of the typical spring break destinations, running low on funds, or even just wanting to avoid the boring trip back home, to reconsider moving anywhere at all for spring break. If more of our students stuck around, San Diego could turn into an extended, and most likely amplified, version of what our weekends look like here.

Imagine how amazing it would be to experience a nine-day weekend here at the school you already love, and having ample funds to continue enjoying your semester after break instead of clawing your way out of post-Cabo debt and depression.