Most parents dread the month of March because it is when their college children embark on spring break trips. Spring break can be a negative and positive point in college students lives because you are enjoying time with your friends in a foreign place whether you are in the country or out of the country. The negative aspect to spring break trips is that many people forget the safety precautions of being in an unknown place. When you are on spring break it is not going out on your college campus, you are in a whole new place and need to take some safety advice to ensure a memorable trip!
In recent years spring break trips or even high school graduation trips have gone wrong such as the disappearance of Natalie Holloway in Aruba on May 30, 2005. She was scheduled to come home on her flight that day and never showed up. Her friends last saw her at a nightclub getting into a car with two brothers from the area. Her disappearance caused a media sensation and hundreds of volunteers helped to find her. In 2012 she was declared legally dead by an Alabama state judge where she was from. Stories like this of missing students happen more frequently than we think so we need to be safe when in a foreign country with our friends. Spring break has recently been glamorized with the release of the movie “Spring Breakers” depicting a not so safe image of what could possibly happen on spring break.
Guys and girls need to always be aware of their surroundings and make sure everyone stays together throughout the day and night. Spring break can especially be more terrifying for girls. Always be aware of the group you are in and the people you are associating with. Spring break is about meeting college students from all different schools but trusting strangers should be off limits. Below are some tips that all college students should follow.
- When you book a hotel make sure you get a room above the first floor because almost always they are the rooms that will get broken into first and always use your safe to put valuables in.
- If you are road tripping for spring break make sure you have a full tank of gas, valid license, and that the passenger is always awake to keep the driver awake.
- Avoid going to ATM’s alone at night because you never know who will be watching. Go to the ATM in groups during the day and always do a full 360 of your surroundings.
- Try to be safe and responsible when you are out at night always check to see everyone in your group is present. Go out with your friends, go home with your friends. It prevents almost 100 percent of unnecessary drama.
- If you are going to a beach gathering make sure you stay hydrated because the sun dehydrates you faster especially in warmer spring break spots.
- If you are going on a cruise make sure you are always aware of your friends and check your pockets when you make stops because in almost all cases tourists get pick pocketed.
- Make sure if you are travelling out of the country you have various forms of identification in case you or one of your friends gets in trouble. The laws are extremely different in every area of the world.
- As much as you do not want to take your parents advice. In almost all cases they have been there done that so listen to their wisdom.
- Do not eat anything too foreign to you or drink the water where it is not clean. The worst is to have to stay in your hotel room sick while all your friends have a fun time on the beach.
- Do not leave food or drinks unattended you never know what peoples intentions are
These are just some of the basic rules everyone should follow on spring break. Otherwise this experience should be a time for you to enjoy being young with your friends. You should be able to make amazing memories and be in a foreign place immersing yourself in a good time.