Spring break is fast approaching, and since most schools scatter their vacations, some students may find themselves stuck at home. But even if you’re not hitting the slopes or playing on the beach, follow these five sure-fire ways to beat boredom and have just as much fun (if not more!) at home.

1. Plan a Road Trip and Visit Other Friends

The great thing about spring vacations in college is that, unlike Thanksgiving break, they’re not at the same time. And while that may be a good thing if you don’t want to awkwardly run into people from high school at your hometown bar, beat boredom and plan a mini-vacation to go visit your friends who are still in school. You’ll still get the feeling of being back at school, just on a different campus. Have them give you a tour of their favorite places to eat, drink and be merry. Or, if you’re feeling really adventurous, drive all the way to your state’s border, and pull a Mandy Moore in A Walk To Remember by being in two places at the same time. How cool is that?

2. Plan a Stay-cation

While you may be jealous at the people that are heading to South Padre or Panama City Beach over break, you can bring the beach to you without spending the huge price-tag on airfare and hotels. Google local tanning facilities in your hometown and get a spray tan, if available. This is an easy and safe way to add some color without stepping on a plane. Make your own tropical drinks (try these recipes from Food Network), put together a rockin’ island-themed playlist (to make it seem like you’re actually at the beach), lay out the beach chairs in your living room, pick up a trashy beach novel, and just relax. Be sure to add these five tunes on your beach-ready soundtrack: Read More »

We are reaching the week in the semester that is marked on every college students’ calendar. Whether the seven days in the planner reads “PUNTA CANA” in big letters or are filled by a volunteer service trip,  Spring Break has finally arrived.

But while some are checking their luggage and loading on the sunscreen, more than half of college students will actually be sticking around for break. Maybe it’s the struggling economy, perhaps it’s a pair of hostile and nervous parents; whatever the reason and no matter your longitude and latitude, Spring Break is an annual week that should be soaked up by all. Yes, even in your teeny, tiny dormroom.

1)      Take time off: OK, so maybe your surroundings are missing a few palm trees and a couple thousand college students running wild but the point of Spring Break is to do just that: break. Close the text books, put away the planner and relax for the week. You will certainly need the relaxation after the midterms you have just endured and to plow you through the upcoming weeks leading up to finals. Read More »

Spring break, a week most college students spend on the beach during the day and in the bars at night. While this is always fun, sometimes it is nice to get away from the ordinary and try something different. Having trouble brainstorming a spring break that doesn’t involve bonging Mexican beers on a beach? We’ve got you covered!

Skiing – Get away from the crowds, and hit the slopes! You can be active during the day and snuggle up with a cute snowboarder in a cabin next to a fire during the night. If you’re worried about coming back from break paler than when you left, that’s what spray tans are for! It’s safer for your skin anyways.

Camping – Picture this: tubing down a river with a cold beer in hand. Some camp sites even have hot tubs and activities at night. I have been to a camp site where I got to set up my tent near a waterfall. There were running showers and live music at night. If that is too “fluffy” for you, there are tons of camp sites without running water. Assateague, Maryland is an island of wild horses which I have personally camped on, and went an entire week with no running water but obviously, the ocean. If this is more your style, check out local camp sites, you’ll be surprised how many you’ll find.

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve been day-dreaming of chugging margaritas on the beach as your toes go numb on the long and snowy walk to class. Spring Break could not come soon enough and many a student has been counting down the days until they leave for those sandy beaches (I’m talking to you, girl who’s been updating her status every day since September).

But while many view the traditional MTV Spring Break as an essential, critical, and irreplaceable college experience, lately girls have been unpacking their bikinis and trading them in for work boots all in the name of Haiti.

I don’t have to remind anyone (I hope) of the disaster that struck there just a month ago. Officially considered the largest earthquake ever recorded, the death toll is estimated between 212-230,000 civilians. That’s equal to the deaths that resulted from the 2004 tsunami in southern Asia. That number is not only shocking on its own, but it makes it one of the two most horrific natural disasters to happen to North America in the last ten years (yes, Haiti is part of North America!), the other being Hurricane Katrina. And just as special Spring Break programs were created to allow high school and college students to travel to New Orleans and help with disaster relief, there are plenty of programs out there for Haiti. Read More »

When I think of spring break, I usually imagine lounging on a beach in Mexico sipping some type of frozen cocktail by day and dancing at a nightclub with all my friends by night.

This March, instead of doing any of the above, I’ll be in New Orleans with 11 strangers, volunteering at an animal shelter that was damaged in Hurricane Katrina. We will be walking dogs, helping with some repairs, and doing some administrative work. At night, we’ll be sleeping in an old church that has been converted into temporary volunteer housing (into which I cannot bring my flat iron!!).

So why would I possibly want to spend my break waking up every morning (without a hangover) at 7:30 a.m. to work with people I don’t even know?

I can think of lots of reasons!

Meeting New People: I wanted to meet some new people and do something fun without having to pay the expensive price of a ticket to somewhere tropical. What better way to make some new friends? At least you know that they’re all going to be nice; I doubt mean people spend their free time volunteering. And while it might be a little awkward at first, after some dreaded icebreaker games and bonding over scooping dog poop together, I’m sure I will leave this week with awesome new friends and memories. Read More »

When I think of spring break, I usually imagine lounging on a beach in Mexico sipping some type of frozen cocktail by day and dancing at a nightclub with all my friends by night.

This March, instead of doing any of the above, I’ll be in New Orleans with 11 strangers, volunteering at an animal shelter that was damaged in Hurricane Katrina. We will be walking dogs, helping with some repairs, and doing some administrative work. At night, we’ll be sleeping in an old church that has been converted into temporary volunteer housing (into which I cannot bring my flat iron!!).

So why would I possibly want to spend my break waking up every morning (without a hangover) at 7:30 a.m. to work with people I don’t even know?

I can think of lots of reasons!

Meeting New People: I wanted to meet some new people and do something fun without having to pay the expensive price of a ticket to somewhere tropical. What better way to make some new friends? At least you know that they’re all going to be nice; I doubt mean people spend their free time volunteering. And while it might be a little awkward at first, after some dreaded icebreaker games and bonding over scooping dog poop together, I’m sure I will leave this week with awesome new friends and memories. Read More »

January may be almost over, and February may have nothing for you to look forward to except Valentine’s Day (which, for a lot of us, is less a holiday and a more a day spent buying ourselves candy and throwing the wrappers at all the happy couples on TV), but March is certainly coming, and it’s bringing with it two of the most amazing words in the English language: Spring Break.

Now, a lot of you out there may associate Spring Break with places like Cancun, Florida, the Bahamas, and other tropical paradises where there’s nothing to do except drink weird fruity things with tiny paper umbrellas floating in them.

And while I have nothing against fruity drinks and paper umbrellas (not to mention scantily clad people lathered up with suntan lotion), Spring Break can be a time for more than just getting a tan and having seven nights of hook-ups you regret later. It can be a time to actually do some good.

The Isabela Oceanographic Institute (IOI), a Florida-based non-profit organization that deals with both American and European study abroad programs, has one of the most amazing Spring Break opportunities around: spend a week in the Galapagos islands while researching ways for them to stay self sufficient. Read More »