This year for fall break three of my friends from college traveled with me back to Staten Island to spend four lovely days in the place I've called home my whole life. When thinking about what to write my article on for this week, I thought it might be cool to talk about our break. Here are some of the highlights, and to make it a little more fun, my headings are written in the style of one of everyone's favorite childhood books, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.
If you bring your friends home for fall break, they're going to want to see all there is in NYC.
During the first few weeks of school I casually mentioned to my friends Kaylee, Kelleigh and Molly that it might be fun to road trip to my house for fall break, and as the weeks progressed we started to become more serious about it. The more we talked about the trip, the more exciting it became.
When they want to see NYC, you're going to have to plan where to go.
I am such a planner, so this part of the trip was really fun for me. For weeks before fall break I thought through all the things both in Manhattan and Staten Island that might be fun to visit. If you're ever planning a trip to the Big Apple but have no clue where to go, let me know and I'd be more than happy to help!
Once it's all planned out, you're going to have to show them all the sites.
All day Thursday, half of Friday and Sunday morning were spent traveling around Manhattan. Some of our favorite parts included being in the audience of Live with Kelly where we got to high five Matt LeBlanc and Dakota Fanning, walking through Central Park, going to Ellen's Stardust Diner for lunch, walking around the High Line, shopping near Rockefeller Center, seeing Aladdin on Broadway, riding the Staten Island Ferry late at night and going to church at Hillsong. Considering that this is only a small portion of what we did, it's safe to say that we came back very tired each night, but it was definitely worth it.
After you've gone everywhere, you'll want to go back to your house and relax.
Because of all this crazy traveling and sightseeing, time at home was definitely a must! At first it was pretty strange having your friends from college be in your house and looking at all your baby pictures on the walls, but it soon became something that I appreciated so much. College is great, but home is home, and being able to go home, but also bring three of my favorite pieces of college with me was something I will never forget. Of course when you come home for break after being away for two months, your family is going to want to stop by. Right before break was my brother's birthday, so Saturday (which also happened to be Molly's birthday) consisted of family dinner. There was a lot of food and a lot of people, but it was a good time of laughter and eating. Although it was super fun to be able to travel around the city, it was just as enjoyable to have time relaxing and talking about anything and everything.
When you've finished relaxing and have seen all the sites of the city, you'll realize it's time to head back to school.
This was probably one of the hardest returns of my four years of college. I was enjoying my time so much that I didn't want to go back to doing school work. Our lovely six hour car ride back made things a little bit better. We listened to some worship music, more Chainsmokers than I'd like to admit and, best of all, I was introduced to the soundtrack to Hamilton, which I currently cannot stop listening. Any drive that is over two hours long is normally not one that I would enjoy, but these three ladies made those six hours some of the best times my car has ever seen.
While you're making the long trip back to Grove City, you'll have some time to reflect and realize that not only was this trip incredibly fun, it was also a reminder of just how great your friends and family are.
As we drove off into the sunset heading west on I-80, I took some time to think about all the good things of this short little trip. Our fun car jam sessions, late night talks, city adventuring, meals with the fam and birthday celebrations all made my heart so happy. Sure, it was sad to go from that to the hours of homework I had been avoiding, but this weekend was so much more than a bunch of good times. When school gets hectic and you're always busy, it can be so easy to forget to stop and be thankful for things like family and friends. This weekend was a great reminder to always be loving people and just enjoy time together. God has given me an incredible family and so many sweet, loving friends that I couldn't help but almost be brought to tears thinking about it during our drive.
