Sweet Anticipation:  Spring Break 2012

By Kelly Rodriguez | Pulse Staff Reporter

With Spring Break just around the corner, college students all over the U.S are looking forward to three things. G.T.L. (gym, tan, laundry), a phrase made popular by “Jersey Shore," the M.T.V hit show. 

However, if your funds are a bit lower than the bustful, loud-mouthed guidos and guidettes have at their disposal, take a tip from some Palo Alto college students who are putting their own spin on their version of Spring Break 2012.

“I don’t have a lot of money left over from having to pay out of pocket for tuition and books, so a lot of my friends and I pitched in and got a condo down in South Padre island” said Jonathan Martinez, a Business Finance major.

“I know it’s typical of students to go down there and party I’d really like to travel outside of Texas for once, but hey, it’s a whole lot cheaper.”

The stereotype of Spring Break correlates with a typical college students spending their nights and a better part of their days in complete and utter drunken debauchery. It’s also a time for students, like Kinesiology major Monica Fernandez, to travel and explore different parts of the United States.

“Every Spring Break since I’ve graduated high school,  I’ve spent the week of Spring Break in a different state…this year I’ll be backpacking without a map or knowledge of where I’m going through San Francisco and New York,” she said.

“I start saving money very early the previous year so that I am able to afford my trip when it comes to booking it. My initial intention was to do it alone but I figured anything worth exploring is worth doing with my best friend,”  Fernandez said.

Summer McClure, a freshman Speech Pathology major, said, “I’m going to Kansas to see my dad. I don’t get to see him quite as often as I’d like to, so this year I’m going up there to surprise him. I’m nervous and excited and scared at the same time.”

If traveling isn’t your style or just simply not in your budget, some may use the week to pick up extra shifts at work so they can make travel a reality sometime in the near future. Or perhaps use this time to catch up with classes or family or friends.

Some individuals, such as Aldo Botello, 20, a Fire Science freshman at PAC, is taking this week-long opportunity to study.

“I recently got accepted to the Fire Fighter Academy, and I’ll be spending my mornings doing my 5 a.m. work outs and my nights studying. My future is looking bright, and I don’t want to jeopardize my fortunate situation,” he said.