It happens to all of us at least once, most of us on a quarterly basis. You look at your finals schedule and pick out the ones that are going to need the most coffee and late-night study hours to get through, and the others that will be sacrificed in order to maintain sanity. In the end, no matter how well you planned, you're so burnt out by the last final that you start filling the Scantron sheet bubbles in a pattern that looks disturbingly like a bobcat. Was it even worth studying?
So I am here to give you study tips, right? Be serious. I've got all projects and papers, no exams or presentations. I may even squeak by with a two-week spring break. My life rocks right now.
Speaking of spring break, let's get to the meat of this column. The minute the last final exam gets turned in, all thoughts go toward dreams of sun, sand and something else beachy that starts with an s. My question is, why wait until then? Why push back such happy thoughts with grueling hours of pointless studying? Start dreaming now, friend. While dreaming, here are some pointers to have a collegehumor.com-worthy experience without intruding on someone else's fun or making an ass of yourself.
Give yourself plenty of travel time. We all know airports have a ton of rules about what can be carried and what it can be carried in, and be prepared to take your shoes off on your journey through security. Don't whine if you get searched ' no one likes a possible terrorist anyway, don't make it any worse.
If you're driving ' kudos on saving money. There are a lot of tips for this but I'm going to focus on just one. Do not get into that car without showering. It may have been a rough morning for you, but it's just cruel and unusual torture for anyone in the car with you for the next five to 13 hours.
For the lucky ducks going abroad, keep in mind that you are in someone else's country. They have different laws and languages, and you should respect both. Their economy will love American tourists (unless you're going to Europe 'rumor has it the Euro has the dollar in a headlock), but they will most likely be dreading the rude American college students. If you're not going to make the effort to learn the language, be prepared to be very patient with communication issues. Don't just expect them to know English, either. You didn't learn theirs, why should they know yours?
No matter where you end up or how you get there, just remember that spring break does not give a license for stupid decisions. My best friend and I justify a lot of actions on the thought that we only get one life to live, but that mantra should never justify something that has a high chance of ending that one life. Do any thrill activities ' skydiving, parasailing, and etc. ' sober. Trust me on this one. The buzz would only ruin the experience, anyway. If you're going out of town, use the buddy system. Oh, and remember this one: Friends don't let friends sleep with creepy people and get STIs.
We've been waiting all winter to get to this week, and it's been a long, cold winter. Grab your best friends and make some mistakes and memories. After all, you've only got one life to live. Keep it classy and safe, though, and come back for what we've really been waiting for: Spring Quarter in Athens. Yeah, you know you're excited.
Chenee Castruita is a junior journalism major. Send her an e-mail at cc282705@ohiou.edu.
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Chenee Castruita
