This past weekend, I went to New Orleans. Needless to say, I learned a lot on the trip. The first thing I learned is that I should no longer let a long drive keep me from going somewhere. I have passed up several opportunities to go on trips simply because I didn't want to drive too far away. Luckily on this trip, I was forced to put up with the drive. To my surprise, minus the idiot drivers in Baton Rouge, the drive wasn't too bad. Even if it was a pain, I would have been extremely disappointed if I missed out on the trip because of it.
The next thing I learned on my trip is that there are certain times where I need to stop worrying about how much money I am spending and just concentrate on having fun. Yes, I went over the budget that I allowed myself, but I wouldn't have had half the fun if I was constantly worrying about this. On past vacations, I've spent a lot of time worrying about my budget, and now I feel like it really held me back from making the best of my trip. Trips like this are typically a rare thing for me, so I can justify splurging like this a couple times a year.
The last major thing that I learned on this trip is to never let preconceptions from keeping me from trying something new. I went to Felix's, a famous oyster bar, and was physically forced to try a raw oyster. I'm not here to say that I loved it, but I did love the experience. My trip also included me doing something else that I never thought I would do. I won't say what it was on here, but I will say that it was completely legal, and I now have a small, permanent souvenir to commemorate the best trip of my life.
I am glad you didn't pass up the opportunity to go! I have only been for a short time but enjoyed it like you did. I agree that in college we need to let go of things holding us back from trips like this. When else can we get up and leave for the weekend and check out another city or a national landmark. When else do we have 10 friends who want to join in on road tripping 20 hours to Disney World. I think we forget this in college, at least I know I do often. We need to realize these are 4 years (two now for us left) When else do we not have to worry about missing work or family things holding us back on the weekends. I went away this weekend as well. I have to say it was freeing and should be done more. Thanks for the post! Maybe ill try a raw oyster sometime too.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like quite the trip! You obviously experienced lots of personal growth, including a new tattoo? You HAVE to tell me what it is!! The car rides may be long, but I find that that's when you learn a lot about your friends. Who drools in their sleep, sleep talks or sings really horribly to the radio! It's a magical experience. I'm really impressed that you took so much from one trip! I know what you mean about learning to let yourself splurge. I keep catching myself thinking, okay I just have to make it to ____ and then I can relax. When in reality I need to take advantage of everything that's happening right now! I am also extremely proud of you for trying raw oyster, I can only imagine that it tasted like slimy rubber.
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