Spring break is when reality hits -- with a vengeance

By Julie Garcia

March 6, 2006 | It seems as though everyone gets infected with the antsy spring-fever bug around this time of year. The ability to focus is skewed. The general populace is trying to lose weight so they can flaunt their hot bods for spring break. People are hooking up right and left. The weather is nicer and brighter.

By this time, everyone is so sick of having their noses in books and studying.

The thing is, when spring break finally hits and students get that week of freedom, it isn't enough! I always feel gypped that I didn't get a longer break. My thought process is: It's spring. I'm young. School will still be there when I return.

I need one more week to recoup from the winter-time blues. There's way too much going on right now at school. I just need one more week to breathe.

I can see why spring break should only last a week because school is still in session and it isn't summer yet.

Tacking on another week and the end of the semester would only make it worse in the long-run. I just think spring fever is difficult to remedy.

As a student, I try to find methods to help me concentrate one what's important. It usually doesn't work. I scrape by on getting done with what needs to be done because I just want to be done with school as soon as possible. I'm not an over-achiever. I'm just an achiever at this point in time. I wouldn't be too surprised if a lot of other students felt like this as well.

Of course, I do see people working harder on getting nicer physiques. Every where I turn I see some random jogger running on the street. Maybe it's just because the weather is warmer and it's easier to exercise outside.

However, the gym does load up around this point in time as well. I think it's because people want their bodies swimsuit-worthy for the hot temperatures on the way. I have no problem with people wanting to lose weight and be healthier.

That's great. That's more than great, that's fantastic. It's refreshing to see people want to change their lifestyle for the better in this "Super-Sized" world.

However, I must say it's quite a frustrating notion to think that these people are only exercising to look better for spring/summer. I'll admit it, I'm guilty as charged. One of the only reasons I exercise is to look better, but I exercise year-round. If people are going to make goals to be fitter, they should do it all of the time.

The random hook-ups probably don't help with spring fever either. The once-single individuals who roamed campus now have new love-interests in their lives and center their attention more on that rather than school obligations. I've always been stumped on why love seems to blossom like the tulips around spring time. I guess the pretty weather makes it a perfect time for weddings.

It does make sense that sunny-ness would get people's endorphins going and make happier commoners. Being happier might make someone more outgoing. This brought-on happiness may lead to more outgoingness. Thus, new relationships would begin.

People always clean out their closets, drawers, and everything else around spring-time too. Maybe it's just the spring-cleaning bug.

Regardless, I think spring is just that point in the year when New Year's resolutions have failed and people just want to reinvent themselves. As a result, they try so hard to look and feel different that they lose their ability to concentrate as they would normally.

I haven't been able to solve much by ranting about Spring Fever.

Nonetheless, I have concluded that Spring Fever can be defeated by people accepting themselves for who they are and what they look like--flaws and everything.

But why would anyone want to go to the trouble of fighting the fever when it feels so natural right now?

MS
MS