When I was in high school, MTV's Spring Break painted a lovely picture in my mind — body shots and chicks in bikinis. Man, college was going to be awesome. Talk about a step up from Friday nights at the movies and Saturday nights with the Keystones. Oh boy, oh boy, I couldn't wait!
When spring break rolled around freshman year, I soon realized that I had a problem. Most of my friends played sports — if you count lightweight crew and sprint football as sports, that is. In any case, all these "athletes" had scheduled tournaments or practices over spring break. They certainly weren't going anywhere. Neither was my sorry ass. Spring break in Jersey. At least those California kids who go home for spring break get to go home to ... Califreakingfornia.
Again, sophomore year was an uneventful spring break. I think I remember injuring my neck from sitting on the couch watching TV in a weird position for 11 hours a day. Let's just say that my right hand got pretty tired that week ... from ... er ... all the remote clicking.
Junior year. At last, a true spring break. Fifteen midterm-week-sleep-deprived Princeton kids and the glorious Dominican Republic. Here we come. $599 for a five-day and five-night stay at the (semi) luxurious Sun Village Resort. Oh, wait, that included airfare. Thank you, CheapCarribean.com. That's a nice little plug for them, huh? I swear, literally five minutes after debarking the airplane at the airport, I was handed a cup — not a shot — of free rum. A little rummy in the tummy? Now that's what I call a good start to a trip.
The first thing we did was hit the bar. After chugging about three pina coladas and not feeling a buzz, we realized we were pounding nonalcoholic kiddie drinks. A classic spring break rookie mistake. Instead of a BAC buzz, we all had sugar highs. From then on, it was El Presidente, the Dominican equivalent of Beast. So, was it a good trip? I mean, yeah, I suppose having six pools, tennis courts, all you can eat and drink all day, and oh wait, a beach in the same place was pretty sweet.
So I know all you non-seniors have heard every senior on campus whining about his or her thesis by now. All the lame jokes are by now overused. "Where are you going for spring break?" "Going to this really exotic location — my carrel in Firestone." "What are you doing for spring break?" "This really hot girl, her name is Thesis. Have you met her?" Ha ha ha. So funny we seniors are. If anyone's come up with a clever I-am-doing-my-thesis-over-spring-break joke, I would like to hear it. Or, just post it on the Point wall. Does anyone actually read that?
But let me tell you, nostalgia is a bitch. I was talking to a group of juniors headed to Jamaica this afternoon. Any seniors wanna buy some last minute tickets? You know our theses are going to get done anyway. So you'll have to pull a few all-nighters in April. Whatever, I'm sure Jim Williamson '07 will be running around campus handing out Monster energy drinks anyway. Besides, I believe Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel's grading policy allows for 55 percent As on independent work. And, honestly, do you really care what you get on your thesis anyway? You're gonna graduate, it's gonna be fine. Hmm, it's a good thing I don't think my adviser reads The Daily Princetonian.
I suppose this spring break will sort of serve as a bonding experience for us seniors. Eating clubs are closed, so we'll have to go off campus and eat together. Study breaks will be aplenty. Indeed, it is often easiest to appreciate campus during a break when it's quiet and everyone's gone. Sort of gives off a serene vibe, doesn't it? Though it might be hard to appreciate campus from the depths of Firestone, I'm sure we'll manage. To you sophomores and juniors: Party hard. Every senior on campus is jealous of you, and you better not let us down. Make some memories. Neel Gehani is an ORFE major from Summit, N.J. He can be reached at ngehani@princeton.edu.
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