My second year of college has been the most stressful year of college (yeah, I know I don’t have much to compare it to), but despite my involvement on campus, in class and in the community, I have made it a point to find time to travel. I have road-tripped to San Diego, day-tripped to Tucson, Ariz., and holiday-traveled to countless other places. Those trips have created my most memorable experiences thus far. Yet, none of them were overly complicated, overly planned or overly expensive. Here are a few steps I have taken to minimize complications and emphasize memories.
First, stop food. Being in college, I don’t have an excessive amount of spending money, so for me, food is an easy way to cut trip costs. For my first trip to San Diego, I packed peanut butter, jelly and a loaf of bread. I do think exploring new foods is important, but my goal was to have one main, local meal a day surrounded by my inexpensive snacks and meals. If you are hiking, at the beach or simply touring a new city, unpacking a sandwich saves money but also time! Pre-planned meals give you way more time to explore, relax and experience.
Second, stop planning. Under plan your trips in the best way possible – don’t run out of gas, ditch a first aid kit on a camping trip or leave behind your undergarments – but don’t plan every tourist spot. Over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, I did a short up and back trip to Jerome, Ariz., and my favorite part of the trip was it was completely unplanned. My boyfriend and I stumbled upon a junkyard lined with old, classic cars and trucks, littered with chickens and guarded by a donkey! We spent hours taking pictures, browsing through the unique gift shop and watching the goats play.
Third, stop timing. Time should never be the most important factor of your vacation. If you don’t have time for a weekend trip, plan a day trip. If you don’t have time to hit all of the stops on your list, don’t rush through, just wait for another time to come back and experience each stop fully. If you don’t have time to grab a meal, grab ice cream! There is always time to find a solution to running out of time! My least favorite thing on a trip is feeling rushed or like I am running out of time. Realize you can’t do everything, but everything you do should be done thoroughly.
Finally, start experiencing. I think experiencing comes in four stages (approximately). First, photographs! Take a darn good load of pictures because who knows the next time you’ll be back? Secondly, video! My cousin's first piece of advice when she heard about me studying abroad was to take videos! I just began filming small parts of trips this semester and have loved re-watching them. The third step is to physically experience your surroundings. Take it all in with your eyes, not a camera lens. Feel the ocean air, the forest wind or the city heat against your skin. The last step is to experience with others. Get out there and make memories, pause to embrace but run into the memories! Experiencing embraces remembering, prompts self-venturing and demands laughter, running and smiles that can only be shared with a friend.
Plan a day trip, plan a weekend trip, plan a weeklong trip or plan a picnic. Find ways to explore, vacation, experience and wander because those are the times you learn something new about the world, yourself and your friendships. Stop worrying about the money, planning everything out or the timing, and start experiencing. In the end, life is about the experiences, not eating the fanciest meals, checking off each destination or rushing through moments. Live life a little, and uncomplicate your next vacation.
