Even though the icy grips of winter still maintains its hold on Notre Dame, the wiser among us have already begun looking ahead to the far-off dream of Spring Break. In preparation for this special week, here is a typical look at the planning process of the average ND student:

January 30: Hey guys, I know it’s pretty far off, but how fun would it be to all go on a Spring Break trip together? It could be so much fun! We could go to Cabo, or Miami, or maybe even take a bus up to Montreal! Or, even better, we could go to Austin for a weeklong concert! What was that, Suzy? You get hay fever really easily? Okay, not Austin, but all the other places sound great instead.

February 3: Hey guys, not trying to be a nag or anything, but I do kind of need some firm commitments from people. I guess we can’t really afford to go to any of those places we talked about, but I have a friend who said he could get us a great deal on a rental house for the week. Yes, it’s not ideal, and yes, it is in North Dakota, but at least it’s a place to go! Am I right?

February 6: Hey all, me again. Really trying to not be too passive-aggressive, but you all did sort of promise to pay me by the end of January (Lily and Jack, I’m looking at you!). Just kidding, sort of. It turns out my buddy can only get us that house the week before Spring Break, and it will still be at peak pricing, but at least we will all be together!

February 22: Hey folks. So I think we are all pretty mad that four of our nine friends decided not to attend this awesome North Dakota Spring Break Adventure 2017, but they will definitely regret it after they miss out on staying in New Rockford, the 50th best spring break destination in the greater Dakota area!

February 29: Hey kids, the date of our extravaganza is quickly approaching. Just a few reminders for everybody. Obviously, rent will now be doubled, but who cares! Just add a couple thousand to the student debt pool, that’s only like five dollars more a month in payments for the rest of your life. Second, we didn’t manage to get plane tickets in time, so we are going to be road tripping it. My car can fit four, but squeezing in a fifth for a 9-12 hour drive shouldn’t be too bad?

March 5: Turns out my buddy meant South Dakota. Whoops. Maybe we’ll try again next year.

This report has been a Public Safety Announcement. Think before you Spring Break.

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