Ava Gravina ’28 is a psychology and English major at William and Mary. She swims with Club Swim and writes for the school’s pop culture magazine, The DoG Street Journal. She is from outside Boston and enjoys spending time with friends, baking, reading psychological thrillers and watching rom-coms. You can contact her at acgravina@wm.edu.
The views expressed in the article are the author’s own.
As spring break approaches at the College of William and Mary, and midterm season is in full swing, many students’ conversations revolve around upcoming exams, homework and all the work that they have to complete. Spring break still feels distant, like a period out of reach and overshadowed by stress, and for many, it’s a marker of survival. Yet, even during late-night study sessions at Earl Gregg Swem Library, the idea of break lingers quietly in the back of many students’ minds. The anticipation and the subtle pressure to have plans is also there.
At the College, where many students are accustomed to keeping busy, doing nothing during break feels strangely uncomfortable. For many, they feel a certain pressure for their week to be memorable, productive or at least interesting enough to share with others.
Especially in a world shaped by social media, many often feel like they have to document their trip for others to see just how much ‘fun’ they are having as they enjoy drinks (non-alcoholic, of course), tan on the beach, swim in the ocean, photograph the sunset and get all dressed up for dinner. It’s hard not to be jealous of those people and feel as if you are missing out when your feed fills with ocean views and group photos that make the trip look perfect. Yet, social media does not capture the budgeting debates, travel stress or planning behind the scenes.
It also takes a lot of coordination to get a trip in motion. It’s one thing to casually talk about it while grabbing lunch in Sadler Center with friends, but it’s another thing to actually make the trip happen. A destination has to be decided, parents need to give the go-ahead, and suddenly you are comparing flight prices, booking hotels or Airbnbs and realizing just how quickly the cost of food and excursions adds up. Then comes packing, often last-minute if you are like me, and maybe even buying a new bathing suit or two and some new summer clothes. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen, or else you are going to be upset if you burn easily like me. Ultimately, the planning is far less glamorous than the photos that will follow, but despite the chaos, it becomes a memorable part.
Then comes the complexity of group travel. Planning with friends seems easy enough, but it often involves lots of compromises and negotiations. While one person envisions just lying on the beach and tanning all day, another wants to do some shopping, someone wants adventure like hiking to a waterfall and one is just excited for the local food.
Speaking of great food, this year, my twin sister and I, along with two of her friends, have decided to go to Mexico. Now, many of you are probably reading this questioning the safety with recent news about how the Mexican cartel leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Oseguera Cervantes (known as “El Mencho”) was shot dead during a military raid in Tapalpa, Sunday, Feb. 22. Sadly, it’s looking to be a bit precarious whether we will or will not make it to Mexico.
While Cancún is far from Jalisco, news of Mexico’s most wanted drug lord being killed sparked wide-spread unrest, with vehicles and businesses being set on fire and even more deaths. My thoughts are with everyone in Mexico affected by the unrest, and I hope the situation calms down soon. As of now, airports are running smoothly, security presence has increased and Cancún seems mostly unaffected as it is no longer in a shelter-in-place.
Although I’m not an internal security expert, just a student hoping to enjoy a break after midterms, I certainly do not underestimate the seriousness of the situation. But I yearn for the sun, palm trees, crystal-clear water, snorkeling and the local Mexican cuisine. As one article even notes, “If it was my family, I sure as heck wouldn’t want them in Puerto Vallarta or Guadalajara in the near term. But I wouldn’t cancel a spring break trip to Cancún.” So, let’s hope I make it to Mexico. Regardless of whether this trip happens, this experience has already challenged my idea of what spring break is supposed to look like. Behind every seemingly perfect getaway are uncertainties we cannot control, no matter how much we try. Even though travel feels like an escape, it cannot remove uncertainty or real-world problems, no matter how perfect we try to make our trips appear.
