Winter break has finally arrived and businesses and attractions are officially back open. Students have the opportunity to spend their winter break in a lot more ways than last year since the fear of catching COVID and travel restrictions put a damper on traveling. However, with vaccines available, COVID cases have been trending downward, and as life has started to feel more normal, plans for this winter break now include travel. 

Many students this year are traveling out of state. Senior Alfa Alukidi is traveling to George Mason University in Virginia to do a college visit, where he hopes to attend and play for their team. Many seniors are spending this winter break on college visits that the 2021 senior class did not get the opportunity to do, as many universities kept college tours online last year. Another senior, Nicholas Sardinas, plans to travel to North Carolina for hunting and skiing.

“My family [and I] travel a lot, so we like to go skiing or go on a cruise,” Sardinas said. 

Other students are also traveling out of state to visit family, like freshman Diego Tuesta who is going to Georgia. However, most seem to have plans to stay in Florida and go out locally. Sophomore Michael Albrizio has plans with his family to go to Disney and spend time in the Magic Kingdom. Disney experienced an all-time low of visitation in the winter of 2020, however its numbers have been climbing back up these past few months. Another area that is seeing growth in attendance is sports games. As the hockey season starts off this year, senior Noah Feiner got tickets to see a Florida Panthers’ game with his family. 

Students are also planning to spend this winter break in nature like junior Michelle Torres. She and her family like to go to Everglades, where they take boat rides and witness wildlife while enjoying the fresh air. Freshman Penelope Jade Perez plans to go to the beach in Naples, as she said that the drive is a fun trip with her siblings and mom, and worth the distance to see the sunset on the waves. 

With the holidays coming up, there are those who plan to spend time giving to others. Senior Veronica McBride likes to spend Christmas Eve volunteering with Feeding South Florida, an organization that helps provide food and services to those in need all over South Florida. Freshman Dakarai Austin plans to volunteer this break as well, receiving service hours early on while providing assistance to the community. 

Even with COVID-19 regulations relaxed, there are still plenty of students staying in this winter break. Senior Naiya Rampat likes to spend the holidays baking cookies and making hot chocolate, a classic way to spend time when at home with family and friends. It never gets too cold in Florida but that doesn’t make having a nice warm cup of hot cocoa any less appealing, especially with a holiday movie on and surrounded by family.