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Alcohol ruins spring break vacations
 Christine Johnson
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Next week at this time, many students will be packing their bags, boarding planes, loading their cars or just dreaming about going on a spring break vacation.
South is the most popular destination for most spring breakers. Many aim for the white sandy beaches of Mexico or the Caribbean Islands.
Most students look forward to relaxing and having fun. For some this means waking up after noon, eating breakfast/lunch on the way to the beach, falling asleep in the sun, going back to the hotel for a quick shower and then cruising to the open-air bars for a party that lasts until dawn. The next day, its the same thing and before they know it, it's time to head back to frigid Minnesota.
In their suitcases, they might have a few souvenir cocktail mugs; a disposable camera, containing pictures of their wasted friends; dirty clothes; a half-empty water bottle; a crusty swimming suit and white sand.
In their minds, they might have memories of lying out and dancing, but some of the memories are forgotten in the moments of being drunk.
I do not drink alcohol. That may be why I have never understood why people get drunk on vacations. Although I don't look down on people who choose to drink during most of their vacation, I wonder if I shouldn't feel sorry for them.
When I went on my first spring break, I was in 11th grade. I went to Orlando with four girls. We had a blast visiting the Disney parks, NASA, the Atlantic Ocean and Sanibel Island. It was a monumental vacation, and it included not one drop of alcohol. The best part of spending the $800 that the trip cost was that I could remember where it went.
I remembered us steering clear of Fort Meyers Beach, which was packed with partying students. Instead, we found the beautiful, almost serene Sanibel Island beaches. They were much better than the mainland beaches. They were a secret, well-kept from the crowds of partying students.
I came back with at least three souvenir t-shirts and about four rolls of film, containing pictures of our experiences. I also had the camera I went with, my clothes, shells from Sanibel Island and a mind full of memories.
This was just one of my spring break trips. Over the years I've gone to Corpus Christi, Texas; Phoenix, Ariz.; San Diego, Calif.; and the Grand Canyon, Ariz. Every trip was without alcohol. My friends and I avoided the partying crowds of students.
Then after all these trips of avoiding partying students, I went to Europe in the summer of 2000. The second night, my friend and I were stuck sleeping in a hostel, which was three floors above a bar. It was a nightmare. From that point on, we were careful to choose hostels with no bars.
We did everything on our trip, from hang-gliding in Switzerland to snorkeling in the Mediterranean Sea, from shopping in Sweden to walking on the beaches of Normandy. I knew I was creating memories I would treasure. I knew I was visiting places I might never see again. I was having the time of my life.
Back in the hostels at night, we would talk to other American students who also thought they were having the time of their lives. The only thing different was that some of them never seemed to remember what they did.
Some students set aside certain days of the week as party days and spent the other days actually experiencing the culture and seeing the sights of the countries.
To my amazement, some students went to the bar almost every night. They would travel to other countries simply to visit famous bars. Some students referred to the bars rather than the countries when explaining their travels.
I could not believe they were spending all their money on alcohol. I could not believe they traveled all the way to Europe and were wasting their time being drunk. It still baffles me to remember these students.
Now with spring break near, some SCSU students may be planning vacations similar to the ones experienced by the drunk students I write about.
Obviously my opinion is my own, but I just have one question: why travel when there's plenty of alcohol here in St. Cloud?
Christine Johnson can be reached at: [email protected]
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