Ah, spring break; a wonderful, freeing time where students all across the world travel, have fun, and relax. This much-needed vacation is a break from the stress of school. Students can meet up with old friends for a road trip to the mountains or party their hearts out dancing in the Caribbean. Warm places are often favored for spring break, making the Southern U.S., South and Central America, and tropical islands like Turks and Caicos or the Bahamas popular destinations. Anywhere void of educational works and academics is a haven for overworked students.

Our Wakefield students and staff went to some really neat places this spring break, ranging from a short drive to another part of the state or all the way to a different country. Tejal Vanukuru, a senior, went to Asheville with a couple of her friends.

“We drove there, it was fun like a road trip, we stopped along the way to get food. When we got to Asheville we hung out downtown which was really nice and pretty,” Vanukuru said. “It was super hipster, a lot of thrift stores and antique stores, literally a city made for me. The next day we went to the Blue Ridge Mountains and hiked.We ate out at these really good places like a restaurant called Biscuitville in Asheville it was the best meal I had in my life.”

Asheville, NC is a great place for a nature, history, or antique junkie.  It is an excellent location for hiking, exploring new trails, finding historical sites ranging from Biltmore to the haunted Omni Grand Hotel,  ziplining through the trees, or simply biking around and seeing the sights. Vanukuru recommends a visit Asheville to anyone and is already planning trips to visit again in the future.

Melissa Schug, Wakefield science teacher exemplifies the importance of thoroughly planning a trip around the weather so it can be the most enjoyable. Schug went to Salt Lake City, Utah and Yellowstone National Park with her family. A beautiful place filled with mountains and epic natural structures, being in the northern part of the country, Utah is cold for a majority of the year and is only warm for a few months out of the year.

“Typically we have gone in warmer weather, not summer but spring or fall,” Schug said.  “Yellowstone was beautiful and there was nobody there but it was freezing, it got up to ten degrees. We did go cross country skiing and snowshoeing, but didn’t get to ride our bikes like we wanted to because it was too cold. I would go again for sure, but probably when it is a little bit warmer late April instead of late March”.

This vacation is a time to experience new things. Senior Brooke Byrd went to Cancun, Mexico with a few of her closest friends. Cancun is a mecca for pool parties, music festivals, and amazing beaches. Byrd and her friends had many experiences and a lot of fun in the sun.

“The resort had lots of stuff to do, millions of restaurants and jungle in the middle of it,”  said Byrd “The only tourist-like things we did was going to downtown Cancun which had a lot of malls. On a cruise, we did go to an island off the coast which was really fun.”

Some students even went as far as Europe! Allison Burnett, a freshman, went to Paris, France for her spring break.  She was enthralled by the different culture and how some stereotypes are just not true when one immerses themselves in the beauty of a different country.

“It is not my first time going out of the country,” Burnett said. “It is definitely different when no one speaks the same language as you, but that was pretty much it. The French have the stereotype that they are rude and mean but they are actually very nice. The food and the language was the only culture difference.”

Spring break is a wonderful time to get all of your party animal out or just chill with your buds. It’s a great time to relax and pamper yourself away from the weight of school. Wherever you go to spend your time, it will be well spent taking time for yourself.