This year’s spring break felt like a glimpse of summer despite the too-cold ocean air and winds that made it impossible to let my hair down. It was more the feeling than the weather that really made it feel that way—the aching feet after a long day of walking, uninterrupted sleepovers reminiscent of elementary school, and being able to breathe without worrying about the next assignment due or work shift scheduled.
It’s not often I get to experience a full week free of both work and school: a rarity that feels even more precious as I get older. As these breaks will likely become fewer and farther between as senior year looms closer, I feel myself scrambling to hold on to every last moment and memory like this left. I’ve always had a difficult time remembering to stay in the moment and not focusing too much on the fact that this could be one of my college best friends and I’s last breaks all together; it’s like letting this thought spiral in my head will make the trip just a little bit longer or a little more special.
While I would love to say that this didn’t happen on my trip to the Bay Area, it unfortunately did, but it felt a lot less debilitating then it used to. I was able to stay in the moment, and also take a second to recognize this week would come to an end and soak up every fleeting moment.
Every night over the week, after showering and changing into our pajamas, exhausted from the attractions of the day and feeling that kind of delirious where everything is funny—we shared our rose, bud, and thorn. It wasn’t something we went into the trip knowing we would do, we just found that after spending the entire day together, we all wanted to know each other’s favorite and least favorite part of the day. Our thorns tended to be more of a joke than a real infringement on our day, and our buds were usually whatever we had planned for the next day.
Being able to look forward to the next day every day for a week was a gift. In college it’s difficult to not wake up on a Monday morning already anticipating the weekend, hoping the week ahead will slip right by with minimal effort. And then, when the weekend finally arrives, the dread of Sunday night is already settling onto your shoulders, a heavy coat in the heat you can’t seem to lose. Something about the Bay Area prevented this feeling, even as I sat on the floor of the SFO airport, internally begging any higher being that would listen to please fix this lightning-struck plane. I took the good with the bad, the thorns with the roses.
It was nice to feel like just a girl with her friends that week. We stayed in one room, squished on the queen bed and laid out on twin mattresses strewn out on the floor. We waited for our turn in the shower, did blind karaoke, and nagged one another with the constant “does this outfit look good or should I wear something else?”s. We shared makeup tips for the best eyeliner and embarked on a never-ending hunt for that one pair of sunglasses. Sometimes it’s hard to not know you’re gonna miss something good until it’s over, but this time we all knew.
So, in a final goodbye and sendoff to this year’s spring break, here is my rose, bud, and thorn for that week:
Rose: Having something to look forward to every day.
Bud: Summer! And for all the other trips like this ahead!
Thorn: That spring break couldn’t last forever, or just a little bit longer.