MTV is showing even less music than they normally do. It must be spring break time.Watch out, South Beach, Daytona Beach and Cancun, the crazy college kids are coming.

The Girls Gone Wild crew is packing its bags and heading down south, where bikini tops are flying across bars and hook ups are happening up and down the beaches.Mid-semester can call for some crazy partying and warm vacation spots are common choices for overworked students to unload. This usually means some drinks, dancing and a vacation fling.

The dictionary defines a “fling” as a brief sexual affair – not necessarily an affair where you cheat on your significant other, but an affair simply meaning a period of time. A fling is different from friends with benefits in the way that you really never plan on seeing these people after having an awesome time with them for a week or two. You don’t have to go into great detail about your life with them, you don’t have to introduce them to your family and you can have fun with them like there’s no tomorrow, because for a fling there really is no tomorrow.

It’s well known that spring break is the king of flings. We’ve all seen the videos, talked to our friends, and possibly participated in these so-called “spring flings.” There are two sides to everything, so let’s assess the spring fling.

Responsible vacation flings can be fun. It can be like a rent-a-boyfriend for your week away. Someone attractive, funny and from the other side of the United States to hang out with while on vacation can be refreshing, but it’s important to be cautious.

Being with friends while hanging out with your new fling for the week can keep you safe and keep you from doing things that you may regret later. It’s important to have a good friend watching your back when you’re out partying. By having friends and boundaries, bad flings can be avoided.When you stray from your group of friends and do a little too much “flinging” you may wind up in a position you hadn’t planned on.

Wild and crazy behavior can taint your happy vacation. A drunken fling could result in waking up with no memories of the person next to you in bed. There might not be any signs of having used protection, and you might wind up in the next Girls Gone Wild video. Even a disease is possible. For some people it may be hard to know when to draw boundary lines when all they’re doing on vacation is escaping their stressful lives, but attitudes like that can have consequences.

Now, I’m all for the spring fling, but you need to be cautious about who your fling is and what you’re doing with them. Your friends are the best defense you can have against a bad fling. They’ll be able to see from the outside what you may be getting yourself into and hold you accountable to boundaries you should have established ahead of time. Bad things can potentially happen in large crowds of drunken people partying and you should always have somebody looking out for you.

When you have to hop back on the plane after your spring adventure you should feel refreshed and left with happy thoughts of your time spent away. The great thing about a fling is that they are short and sweet, there are fond memories of time spent with that person, but you aren’t left with an aching heart and phone calls begging that person to move to your side of the United States.

Spend some quality time with your friends on spring break and watch each other’s backs. This can make the difference between a good fling and a bad fling. And remember, keep your bikini top on while you’re at the bar, never drink yourself into a blackout around strangers and always use protection. These simple things can maximize your pleasure with your spring fling and help you have the time of your life.