Each year, thousands of high school seniors migrate to the Caribbean for spring break. A week off soaking in the missed sun, diving into clear blue waters and substance abuse that kills friendships, relationships and lives. Every second contains a drink in hand and no confidence that they will remember the rest of their trip. Whether legal or not, each kid looks forward to a week of freedom from their parents, school and the law. All of this makes me question if these extravagant senior spring break trips live up to how they are advertised or if they truly are more harm than good.
As a junior, the planning for next year’s senior spring break trip has already left a variety of hurt opinions and unhappy students that think “the resort is too boring” or “the club looks bad,” when all of these all-inclusive resorts hold the same qualities, just in different locations. The drama that has already sparked from just planning foreshadows the kind of trip our class will have. Not to mention the pressure students have to go to the same resort as the rest of the class. There seems to be a large stigma around not attending the same spring break as everyone else when really it could cause less issues surrounding the attitudes and well-being of the students.
Regarding the experience during senior spring break, it is very common for unrestricted substance abuse with students ages 17-18. Due to foreign countries’ lower drinking ages, the access to alcohol becomes more convenient, leading to substance abuse to be more common during these trips. Not only alcohol, but other dangerous substances are heavily present at popular spring break destinations. A report done by the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services states that recently the risk of fentanyl-laced drugs or alcohol poisoning has become more conventional among young adults. The risk that comes with having unrestricted access to alcohol does not out-weigh the disturbing results of substance abuse.
Each year seniors come back to school with strong mixed opinions. Some reminisced of their incredible time, while others thrilled to be back home. It seems that only a handful of students truly enjoy their time compared to the others who found themselves attending just to conform to the general public. Looking forward, I see that following the crowd to a mediocre resort in the middle of the Caribbean won’t solve all your problems, it will only make you wish you followed your own idea of a successful spring break.
