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Creativity, not cash, is all you need to pack

By Sommer Mathis

March 10, 2004 9:00 p.m.

The main goal of a college education, if the majority of my
professors are to be believed, is to learn to think critically
about as wide a variety of issues as possible. Certainly, we will
absorb hard information as a part of the process of exercising our
critical thinking skills, but memorizing factoids is not the point.
We are to become problem solvers, not encyclopedias.

Some days, it seems to me that much of what we learn to do by
way of creative problem solving comes not from classroom work, but
rather from the very nature of being a broke college student.
Stripped of the protective leather of our parents’ wallets,
forced to pay exorbitant prices for textbooks and Westwood
apartments, many UCLA students apply their most innovative ideas to
perhaps their most pressing problem: not having enough money.

More than a few cases come to mind that showcase the staggering
brilliance I have witnessed displayed by college students looking
to save a few bucks. For example, I will never forget when a former
roommate of mine discovered that, when purchased with a coupon,
Ultra Slim Fast shakes can actually be cheaper than real food.
Whenever cash got tight at the end of the month, we knew we could
survive on those low-calorie chocolate drinks ““and lose
weight, too!

When polled, UCLA students would no doubt be able to offer any
number of other money-saving tenets for those who need to know.
Don’t have enough money to do your laundry? Just spray a
little Febreeze on your smelly shirt, and it’s as good as
new. Like to offer your date a glass of wine with the frozen dinner
you just heated for her? She doesn’t need to know it came
from a box and not a bottle. Been a while since you visited the
barber? There is no shame in trimming your own bangs.

Of course, we all know those students who don’t suffer
from the same kinds of money troubles as the rest of us.
They’re the lucky ones who can afford to do pretty much
anything they want, including putting up with their poor, bitter
friends. They’re also the ones who likely already have plans
for spring break, and fantastic plans at that. They’re
heading off to a fancy Mexican beach resort, or the fluffy white
ski slopes of Utah, or the streets of Paris for a little shopping
and fine dining. You could hate them, but then again, they are your
friends and you do want then to enjoy themselves. OK, you hate
them.

You, on the other hand, probably don’t have big plans
other than recovering from finals and maybe catching up with a few
friends. It’s not because you lack the creativity or
foresight to plan something. You wouldn’t have figured out
how to get that freshman in your biology class to swipe you into
the dorm cafeteria if you did. No, you simply lack the funds you
mistakenly think are required to whisk you away to an exotic
location for a little R&R.

The good news is that your very healthy desire to get the heck
out of Dodge over the break is more than just a viable option.
Southern California is one of the best places from which to set out
on a modest road trip, and in the accompanying pages, we’ve
laid out just a few options to choose from. Besides calculating the
cost of gas and finding you an operating motor vehicle with which
to make your escape from Los Angeles, we’ve done all the work
for you.

The best part about these destinations is they all require
little or no entrance fees. The gas needed to get there may be
expensive these days, but considering the cost of that movie
you’ll probably see if you stay home, there’s really
not a big difference. And wouldn’t you rather enjoy
breathtaking ocean views along the California coast than sit in a
stuffy theater watching some mediocre Hollywood garbage? We thought
so.

So find yourself a pair of sunglasses and a good friend to ride
shotgun, and get your spring break going. Don’t let poverty
prevent you from exploring more of what this and other nearby
states have to offer. And even if it turns out you don’t know
a single person with a car and a sense of adventure to join you,
use this spring break as an excuse to explore a side of Los Angeles
you’ve never been to before. Last I heard, Los Angeles
actually has a modest subway system. Why not find out just how far
it goes?

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