Not even classes ruin springtime happiness

Amy Roberts

Well kids, the center of the college phenomenon just passed. I hope you came back from spring break without a sunburn, police record or anything you may need to get tested for.

As for myself, my break started a little rocky. My friends and I headed to Daytona to find our hotel lacking a working refrigerator. Finding all you have is a hot drink to start off your vacation puts a damper on the night.

Everything around just felt dirty, from the slimy bathroom floor to the couple above us on the balcony, who gave 60 college kids a show you probably couldn’t buy on pay-per-view.

So my friends and I did what we had to do.

We ran like hell to the epitome of spring break ritualism: Panama City, Fla.

There was a surplus of raunch in PC, but it was classy raunch. The beads were down to a minimum. I remember back in the day when it was cool to come back with the most beads from break.

I never understood the tradition. Girls saying, “Look at me! I lifted my shirt for 60 guys to get strands of 10-cent beads. Now I’m hanging them on my rearview mirror to show I was raised with good morals.”

The most interesting bearer of beads was an 11-year-old boy with rosy cheeks and some extra pounds under his shirt. He had a sly grin, and he knew what to do with those green strands. I asked him where his parents were and he replied, “Down the beach. You got a cigarette?” Ahhh … precious adolescence.

For many, spring break means partying ’til you can’t tell the difference between “Thriller” Michael Jackson and “I like to climb trees and pretend I’m Peter Pan” Michael Jackson.

The beach is great until the realization of the two tests and the major paper you have due the following week surfaces.

Oh, but these thoughts won’t get me down.

You see, spring does something to me. When the sun is out and the lawn is that enticing shade of green, I become chipper. Picture Reese Witherspoon’s character in “Election,” without the argyle sweater vests.

There’s one more month of school, and I’m not gonna let a little thing like classes burn my mood. There’s stuff to look forward to. The Kentucky Derby is around the corner – a reason for admitting you’re from this state. This, my friends is a holiday worth celebrating. If you’re not into horse betting, drink some mint juleps anyway.

The weather will only get better. Let’s all break out our bikinis and trunks. We can lie out on Preston Lawn, fill up baby pools with water and pretend it’s the ocean. Wham, bam, PC all over again.

However you choose to spend the end of your spring semester, remember: laid back, carefree, drama-oblivious people are the happy ones.

Get an ice cream cone and sit out under the blue sky. You’re only young once, and youth is a terrible thing to waste.

Amy Roberts is a sophomore textiles and apparel merchandising major from Owensboro.

The opinions expressed in this commentary represent only those of the writer and not of the Herald or Western Kentucky University.