Junior Megan Wilson traveled to Texas with her sister to tour colleges.
Spring break is the perfect opportunity to spend time with friends and family, travel to foreign countries, or simply stay at home and relax. Many Carlsbad High School students took their time off from school to prepare for the rest of the school year as well as spend quality time doing things they enjoy.
With the weather finally starting to warm up, some students took to the local beaches to destress after their hard work so far this semester. Junior Rhyen Pilkington had no plans to travel during the break, so she visited the beach with her friends instead.
“I’m not going anywhere over spring break, but I plan to just go to the beach,” Pilkington said. “I’m excited for the warm weather. I chose to go to the beach because it’s beautiful and peaceful and I can see all the lovely people.”
While many people enjoy staying at home during their vacation, others will be travelling the world. Freshman McKenna Hollenbeck and senior Nina Accardi are leaving the country to experience different cultures during their break.
“For spring break I am going to Arenal, Costa Rica with my younger brother, mom, and stepdad,” Hollenbeck said. “This was a last minute trip that my mom put together [because] our family has always wanted to go.”
Hollenbeck will be participating in many different activities while in Costa Rica in order to get the most out of her family vacation. Although the trip was planned last minute, Hollenbeck is excited for everything that is in store for her and her family.
“While in Costa Rica, my family and I plan to go zip lining, white water rafting and camping in the jungle,” Hollenbeck said. “I’m most looking forward to holding a sloth because they are adorable.”
Some students took a break from school entirely to travel to Mexico for a vacation with family and friends. Among the group of students was Accardi who traveled to Rocky Point, Mexico for a few days this spring break.
“My boyfriend’s family was one of the families going, so when they invited me I was super excited,” Accardi said. “I plan to sit on the beach and just relax, [as well as] ride horses on the beach.”
Another student who traveled was sophomore Grace Mills. She spent her time off school with her family and friends in Joshua Tree, California hiking among other activities.
“This spring break I traveled to Joshua Tree with my dad and our family friends,” Mills said. “We hiked Ryan Mountain and afterwards we helped clean up the park.”
While many students take this break as an opportunity to travel and take a break from their studies, several students, including senior Audrey Williams and junior Megan Wilson, spent their spring break looking into colleges and touring some that they were interested in.
“[During spring break], I plan to hang out with friends, do scholarship applications and visit colleges,” Williams said. “I will be visiting UCSB and UCLA. I chose to do this during spring break because most colleges are in session [since] they have different breaks than us. I will be able to get an accurate idea of what the college is like without having to miss school.”
Wilson had already planned a trip to see her extended family in Texas and Oklahoma. In order to see some colleges that were not so close to home, she planned a visit to several colleges in the Midwest to explore her options.
“[My family and I are] going to go on a few college visits to UT at Arlington and the University of Oklahoma and watch softball games at both schools,” Wilson said. “I am most looking forward to spending time with my grandparents because I don’t get to see them very often so we make the most out of the time we get together.”
As spring break comes to a close, students appreciate the chance to take a week off and prepare for the last few months of school because they have time to destress and refocus for the upcoming months before summer.
“Spring break is a great way to refresh before the end of the school year,” Mills said. “It allows the students to re-energize and not become burned out on school.”
