As a college student, there is no better feeling than when you have no obligation of spending time on your studies. Sometimes students need some time off to replenish their minds away from their vast amount of coursework. One of these times when students have that luxury is during spring break. The only task to figure out it is what you are going to do during this time.
“The value of vacation depends on how you want to define it. Part of how I define vacation is just to recharge, get away, and relax. Then, there are vacations where I personally enjoy the sightseeing and tourist attractions,” said Claude Taylor, Advisor-in-Residence for Academic Transition and Inclusion.
As a way of celebrating Black History Month, Taylor took a mini vacation by going to Washington, D.C. and visiting The National Museum of African American History and Culture. Taylor was shocked about the size and appearance of the museum. “I did a whole weekend in D.C. seeing the museum for the second time and still didn’t finish it. This is a destination vacation because it can be two days or five days. Either way, you’re going to experience something great,” said Taylor.
Taylor believes that doing your research is important. “The first part of planning is just thinking about what do. Is it a destination, and where do you want to go to relax if it is a relaxation vacation? If prices initiate, you need to shop around to see what the best deal is based on your budget,” said Taylor.
“Then, spend time online just looking at reviews from sites and figuring out what place would be the best based on your satisfaction. I’m old school and go to AAA to get a tourism book about places I want to go. Sometimes online is too much. I just grab a book to flip through and start out my search,” Taylor added.
However, students may feel that online sites are an advantage. “If you want to plan a safe and affordable trip, first of all you need to obviously research and make sure you’re getting the best deal for the flight. There are so many different websites you can use to compare prices for locations and hotels,” said Samer Hasan, a junior economics and finance student.
“All of it can be done online, you just have to pay attention to what you’re doing. Sometimes all-inclusive aren’t cheaper, but on the other hand sometimes they are worth it. As far as safety, you can see the reviews people post and base it off of that,” Hasan continued.
Spring break is a time for many college students to experience a celebration of all the hard-work they have done all year. Each collegiate student has a duty to achieve the highest academic accomplishments to the best of their ability. On top of the standard stress, collegiate athletes are expected to perform well academically and athletically. In order for them to experience the ultimate level of success, spring break allows their bodies to get some needed rest.
“It gives you time to restart your mindset. For football, it allows my body to come in healthier and reenergized for spring football,” said Adam Kakar, a junior communication student and Monmouth football player.
Taylor can relate to this as well, based on being a former football player at West Chester University. He received his bachelor’s in speech communication and a master’s in communication from West Chester, as well as a doctorate in media studies/communication from Rutgers University.
“Your time is so scheduled when you are a student athlete that you have to deliberately and intentionally set aside time to not be doing anything. What’s important about vacation as a student athlete is that it’s for your overall well-being. You have to find ways to slow down and clear your head so that when you come back, you’re really ready to be the best version of yourself,” Taylor said.
PHOTO COURTESY of Christi Ruggiero
