The plan (if you can even call it that) was to meet at Kelsey’s and then drive into the heart of Bryan Texas looking for an authentic Mexican restaurant. Once everyone arrived at Kelsey’s and the obligatory pre-adventure group selfie was taken we all piled into cars and headed out. We drove past the point where the signs go from English to Spanish and then found a random eatery where the menus were in Spanish and the food was authentic. Not knowing a lick of Spanish my plan for ordering was to open the menu point to something and then eat whatever weird or delicious creation comes out of the kitchen.

Unfortunately for me I happened to point at the one thing on the menu that they were out of stock in. So I resorted to ordering the exact thing the only Spanish speaking member of our group ordered. He had been to the real Mexico before so I trusted his food instincts, and man was he on point. I ended up ordering two street style tacos that probably were the best tacos I’ve ever had. But then again a Doritos Locos Taco from Taco Bell previously held first place.

During our drive back from Taqueria La Perla, while I was reflecting on the cool and unique experience I just went through. I realized that you do not have to drive to the coast or travel to a ski resort to have a “spring break” experience. But rather you can stay put and still have “spring break” adventures without leaving town. Now I’ve never done anything special for spring break but I did get a lot of snapchats from friends at the beach so I am basically an expert on spring break spent on the coast. Therefore, I am going to compare my experiences to that of a typical spring break beach trip.

1. The majority of your time must be spent near a body of water, and I spent an average of 8 hours a day near water. Sure the water was a chlorinated pool, and sure I was getting paid for my time. But I was still near the water which counts in my book.
2. Time must also be spent around sand, and between the sand from construction that was blown into the outdoor pool and my stint of dominating at beach volleyball one night. (shout out to my awesome partner Audrey) I am still finding sand in my shoes and  car therefore, adequate sand time was achieved.
3. Judging from my snapchats spring break requires you to almost constantly have a cup of liquid in your hand while by the water. And since I work at a college recreation center this week has been extremely slow for obvious reasons. Therefore, I passed the time on stand by drinking a lot. 20 glasses of water a day to be exact and probably way more than the average spring breaker.
4. Whether it be a phone or a wall, something tends to break during all the festivities of the week. Unfortunately, I completed this one too. What happened was I was trying to clean my apartment, and instead of walking 10 steps to a pile of stuff that needed to go in the other room, I decided to lightly lob a Frisbee towards the pile. I missed the landing zone by half a foot, and watched as the disk bounced off the top of my couch and slam into the window behind it. The sound of breaking glass is a sound I am all too familiar with (sorry mom) so I immediately knew the damage that had been done, and grabbed some tape to fix my newly broken window. Now don’t worry I learned my lesson, I will never clean my apartment again.
5. As the week progressed I noticed new faces in the snapchats I received. People were making new friends and got closer to the friends that were on the journey of spring break with them. Being in a deserted college town with no classes and nothing to do not only after work but also during it I bonded with my coworkers and went on mini adventures to sketchy Mexican food places, and sporadic volleyball domination with the fortunate few that were left in town.
6. As my coastal friends are starting to come back to town, I get to hear the stories behind there snapchats and the regrets they have about their decisions. And I too have my regrets. At the start of spring break I had these wild plans to read 5 books, solve a bunch of differential equations, and do some structural analysis. As the kids would say I had planned a lit spring break. However, a daily 3-hour nap took precedence over these plans, and as I am preparing for school to start back up I regret not getting ahead with my homework.
7. Most people woke up every morning of spring break with a headache and were severely dehydrated. This is the only part I missed out on. I did not have the joy of waking up and feeling terrible, but then again did I really miss out on much?

Despite my decision to stay in town and work most of spring break I still experienced new situations, became closer with friends, and even made a rash decision or two. My spring break may have been less adventurous at times, but I still had a great week filled with exciting experiences. I did not need to go out of town and spend loads of money while consuming copious amounts of alcohol in order to “spring break.”

So I challenge you to not necessarily go with the norm, but rather chart your own path and do your own thing. Because at the end of the day (or week) you will still have experiences, memories, lessons, and fun times. Which may even be better than what you would have experienced taking the road most traveled. As always; make good choices, share if you liked what I said, comment if you have something to add, and I’ll see you on Thursday.