About a week out from spring break, I can’t even be excited for my vacation. My to-do list is taller than I am and my stress-level has surpassed its maximum capacity. There are just so many things that need to be taken care of when it comes to preparing to a college spring break trip that I truly can’t feel the excited anticipation I usually do before a break. And that pisses me off. Because of this, I present to you: a rant.
First, I want to shed some light on all the physical preparations. I feel obligated to tan because I don’t want to be white and sunburned for the first half of my vacation. Also, everyone else nowadays has a perfect tan 12 months out of the year, which is just plain rude. I feel the need to get waxed because our society tells us that women should eliminate all evidence of hair growth anywhere. I feel like I have to get my nails done because I’m going on vacation- why am I programmed to think this? Who made us all believe we are supposed to get mani pedis before any vacation or big event? And there is legitimately a need to buy new swimsuits because the freshman fifteen is real and I now look like a stuffed sausage in my high-school swim attire.
The thing is, doing all of the physical prep would actually be fun if it wasn’t so damn expensive. In my case, all the preparations listed above costed more than my spring break trip! Honestly, what the fuck is that? I half-blame it on the fact that I was born with a vagina, and therefore, I have to spend ten times as much money as my male counterparts. The other part of me blames it on spring break culture. There is an image that we all have in our heads of what our spring break is supposed to look like, thanks to Instagram and movies like “Spring Breakers” telling us we should look a certain way.
Another thing that I feel like is overlooked is that vacations in college/with college friends are far different that vacations with your family. No one ever informed me how stressful it is planning a vacation. You have to figure out flights, checking-in for your flight, transportation to and from airport, what you’re going to eat all week, etc. And if you are the mom of the group, like myself, you need to make sure everyone else has their shit figured out too.
The worst part, though, is the school week before. I get that spring break is a nice break mid-semester, but did no one take into account that every mid-term exam/presentation/essay is due in that one week? Today, I skipped two classes just so I had time to do my homework. I won’t even get into how absolutely fucking ridiculous that is. An academic week this strenuous would be challenging when I had nothing else going on, but the week before spring break, with SO many other things on my mind, there aren’t enough hours in the day. Literally. I’ve been sleeping five hours a night for three nights in a row so you can imagine the shape I’m in.
I know, I know. Spring break will make it all worth it, I’m so close, there’s light at the end of the tunnel, I get it. And these things are all true. It’s honestly just a matter of how many stress zits I get before the week’s end.
Happy Spring Break!