Students face the most challenging week of the year as they exchange enthralling stories about spring break

 

On Monday, the entire Notre Dame student body collectively readied itself for the horrors of the coming week.  Practicing their most genuine fake smile, these students prepared themselves to ask those five dreaded words, “How was your spring break?”

There was once a time when those five little words were not a cause for horror.  Once, when people asked each other, “How was your spring break?” they would receive a genuine and interesting response.  Perhaps the respondent would answer by describing a relaxing vacation at home, or maybe discuss a week spent with distant relatives.  Afterwards, the respondent would normally ask the inquisitor how his break was and be authentically interested in his response.

Alas, those happy times are now behind us.  Instead, questioners are faced with listening to a 10 minute response about how that person’s spring break was the best, greatest, most magically inspired week of their lives.  These charmingly self-centered people will assure the questioner that they “had to be there,” that “it helped them find themselves,” and that they made “lifelong friends with the locals.”

Following this lengthy and completely unwarranted narrative, these admirably egotistical students will then ask the required “And how was your break?” question.  However, the original questioner will often barely answer as he sees how inauthentic this question is, and make a quick excuse to leave.

Perhaps even worse though, is the other end of the spectrum.  These spring breakers, instead of flying to some Mexican resort or Florida party hotel, instead chose the route of embarking on a service project.  While such an intent is admirable, it appears impossible for such a student to describe his experience without using the phrases “it really opened my eyes,” “I wish I could live there forever,” or the dreaded “they taught me more than I taught them.”

For these reasons, it is with a heavy heart that most Notre Dame students enter this trying week.  Though their faces may soon start to ache under the force of their fake smiles and weak exclamations of interest, Notre Dame students will continue to ask those five dreaded words.  Why do they do this?  Because Notre Dame students care.

Declan Feeley is a sophomore theology and finance double major whose interests include writing and investment theory.  Declan can be contacted by email at dfeeley@nd.edu.