Well, Winter Break is over and the time to relax and enjoy the time off is done. Now, is the time to hunker down and finish out the year strong. At least, until Spring Break. Believe it or not, Spring Break is already just around the corner, leaving one vacation just to be near another. So what will you do with only two months between you and a week of freedom? There is always the ever-classic trip down to Panama City, Fla.

Every year, there are between 1.5 and two million students who go on Spring Break, and collectively spend over $1 billion. Where do a majority of students spend their Spring Break? More than likely, at the number one U.S. Spring Break destination, Panama City Beach, Fla. The beach attracts nearly half a million spring breakers every year, according to pcbeachspringbreak.com.

I like to think of Spring Break as the vacation that rings in warmer weather, so Panama City might be the perfect place for you to soak up the sun, party, and drink to your heart’s content.

On average, college students consume six drinks per week. On Spring Break, however, men and women consume at least 10 drinks per day, so things can get a little crazy down there, like someone dying from falling off of a balcony, which happens every year, according to dosomething.org. So when you combine drinking and the definitive occurrence of death, it makes for one wild spring break.

For me though, I prefer a quieter way of welcoming the heat back to this cold and snowy place. I will be enjoying the peace and quiet of nature in the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. There, with nothing but a tent and sleeping bag and the stars as my guide — well actually, a compass and a map — I will be totally immersed in nature. Can you imagine? Waking up to a breath-taking sunrise just outside the mouth of your tent. Hearing nothing but the sounds of birds and the babbling of a creek nearby. Lying in a hammock soaking it all in as the breeze rocks you to sleep.

I will admit, it may not be as warm as Florida, or as crazy as Panama Beach, but it will be a lot warmer than Iowa and it will be just the medicine I need to finish out my year at Iowa State.