Now’s the Time – Create your Lasting College Memory
It may seem hard to believe, but with October wrapping up this week the fall 2012 colligate semester will soon begin its home stretch. Halloween means we are only three short weeks away from Thanksgiving. After a brief holiday break, it’s only a short turnaround until finals, and then it’s over. For you December Grads the ends is just over the horizon. The light is appearing at the end of the tunnel, and the real world beckons. However, now is not the time to get caught up in reflection, and sadness. Your adventure is not quite over. As a December Grad myself, my biggest piece of advice is to take advantage of these last weeks by planning one last memory. Don’t think it will just happen, and don’t let your last hurrah be a simple house party, or night downtown. Create a lasting memory that you will remember.
With three weeks before Thanksgiving start planning something special. Hotel rates, activity, and plane fares will shoot up for the holiday. However, you should be able to find some really affordable rates right after. There’s a dip in demand between the two holiday seasons and hotels would love to fill those vacancies. Take advantage of that. Grab a bunch of your friends and split a few rooms. A discounted rate split between 6 to 8 people will mean that you can get rooms for $30 to $40 per person. If you split gas money as well, your room and travel costs for the weekend could very easily be under $60 bucks a person. All you really need is someone to step up and take charge of planning the trip.
Why not have that person be you. Use the studentrate.com travel page to find discount hotel tickets, car rentals, and even airfares. Don’t be afraid to check out trip advisor, and Google to find destinations within your area. Talk to your friends and get the ball rolling.
Here are a few ideas that might be worth thinking about that come from first-hand experience.
Mountain Weekend
This is a popular idea amongst Fraternities, and one I experienced as a member of Sig Ep. Grab a group of your friends and rent a cabin(s) somewhere in the mountains or the countryside. The cool clear nights of autumn is the perfect time to get cozy around a campfire, toast smores, and reminisce.
A Formal
The great outdoors not your thing, why not jazz it up a bit. Rent a tux, find a date, and plan an elegant night that truly breaks the mold from your typical weekend. My Fraternity formal JR year was one of the highlights of my time in college. The whole fraternity rented hotel rooms for a weekend in Wilmington NC. The first night was a party downtown. Cool, but nothing too special. The second night we all dressed up, and took a river boat cruise down the Cape Fear River. Image the magic of prom mixed with the craziness of college. Needless to say things got wild.
Accomplish a goal
My favorite trip of college wasn’t a random weekend. It was based around a goal. During fall break of my last semester we packed into a few cars and headed down to Disney. My friends and I pub crawled around the world in Epcot. The rules were simple. Everyone must have a signature drink from each country (margarita – Mexico, beer – Germany, Saki – Japan), and everyone had to end the crawl with a hat from a different country.
Don’t be afraid to try something different. You really can’t go wrong with what you do as long as you do it with your friends.
Take Advantage of a Current Situation
My final memory of Clemson came in the form of a fortunate gift. My colligate career would have just fizzled with no well-deserved culmination had it not been for the Clemson Football team. An overtime win against Miami meant that Clemson would win the ACC Atlantic division and secure a spot in the ACC Championship game. So, the entire Clemson student body frantically scoured the internet for cheap hotel rooms, grabbed supplies, jumped in the car and drove off to Tampa. The finals were a week away, but no one cared. We were too busy partying in Florida, and tailgating outside an NFL stadium. Ultimately Clemson lost the game, but it didn’t matter. The game was just the push that helped my friends and I have one last adventure together. It was the perfect ending to college.
Regardless of what you choose to do, you really should do something to celebrate the semester’s end. It’s a capstone memory that you will always remember. Although this advice is geared toward graduating seniors, it’s really something everyone should try. It never hurts to have one more special memory.
Don’t be afraid to check out the studentrate.com travel page to receive discounts and cash back on whatever experience you choose to create.
Safe travels everyone
