Stay alive during spring break

Spring break is fast approaching and bringing along with it different environments for many college students. Whether students plan to spend the beloved nine-day vacation at home, across the border, overseas or in a well-deserved hibernation to make up for those hours of sleep lost cramming for midterms – it can be a dangerous terrain. No matter the location, the Northern Iowan has prepared a set of important safety lessons.

Know what is possible. According to www.travelwebdir.com, reading or watching survival stories can be helpful because knowing what other people have faced and overcome makes any situation easier. Attitude matters in any life-or-death situation, and it may even be the factor that saves lives. For maximum convenience and watchability, the NI recommends “ I survived.” It’s a documentary and biography TV show that currently can be watched for free anytime on www.hulu.com.

Some college students choose to drink alcohol during spring break. It’s important to be educated and know when someone is really in trouble. According to http://healthcenter.ucdavis.edu, the only thing that can sober a drunken person is time. Do not give the person a cold shower: the shock of the cold could cause unconsciousness.

A person might have alcohol poisoning if they are breathing less than 13 times per minute or stop breathing for periods of eight seconds or more, if the person is asleep and you are unable to wake them up; if they are cold, clammy, pale or bluish in color; or if the person is repeatedly and uncontrollably vomiting – call 911 immediately. 

Recognize your priorities in any survival situation. The rule of threes is an excellent way to do this. According to   www.survivaltopics.com, an average person can survive three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, three weeks without food and three months without hope.

Plan to survive. This includes planning for the worst before it happens. According to http://dsc.discovery.com, one important aspect of prior planning is preventive medicine. Make sure you don’t have any dental problems and have received your current immunizations. If you aren’t sure why this is important, you can check out Tom Hanks in “Castaway” and one scene involving a tooth will clear this up.

If your spring break will be just another tale of the “same old same old,” you never know what skills you need to acquire. According to MSNBC.com, 35 percent of people between the ages of 18 and dead are now using social networking sites. If you are staying put for spring break you might be spending extra time on Facebook. According to MSNBC’s article, “The survival guide for awkward adults,” there are two tricks to getting along well on Facebook: don’t trust anything, and don’t try so hard.

Clearly we can’t teach you how to start a fire, kill a bear, escape from a kidnapping, survive a plane crash or fend off a crowd of zombies in a 500-word editorial. But when in doubt just remember the word “survival.” Size up the situation, Use all your senses, Remember where you are, Vanquish fear and panic, Improvise, Value living, Act like the Natives and Live by your wits (learn basic skills now).