1. Some Things are Worth the Drive
Driving sucks, you and I both know that. But, consider the drive as an investment. The travel company and the new scenery will be worth it. The literal process and components of driving (the crappy diner food, the gas prices, the shady gas stations, and other horrible things that come with road trips) may be annoying, but just think about the new roads you will travel. In America, if you drive outside of big cities, you will get a sense of how much of the country is just open roads and nature. Living in densely-packed cities will make you forget what resides in the rest of the United States. Make your trip a treasure hunt. Get excited for it like an elementary school kid psyched for the field trip to the aquarium. Suffer through the journey so that you can enjoy your destination even more. Humans are weird. We cherish things more after we struggle to obtain them.
2. There’s Plenty to See
We get accustomed to the places we live in. We get bored. The skyscrapers don’t seem that tall and your favorite restaurant food doesn’t taste that life-changing anymore. So, what do you do? You get the hell out of there. Whether you grew up in the town you’re attending university in or just moved there, new things are waiting for you to discover. Take day trips to explore what nature has to offer. Step out of city limits and find out what’s out there, or what’s not out there. If you’re a fellow Californian that recently moved to the east coast, autumn is real on this side of the country! You’re used to seeing redwoods, eucalyptuses, and evergreens that won’t change color even if you dye them. But the leaves actually turn orange and yellow here, and the fall foliage is pretty damn close to being magical. And a side note, if you ever find a friendly deer drinking out of a creek and it lets you get within petting and selfie-taking range, consider yourself a lucky soul.
3. You Earned It
Don’t you feel like time just drags this time of year? Despite the rapidly-changing leaf colors, the school year seems like it’s crawling. We’ve hit the point in the semester when we’re going through the motion like machines—wake up, go to class, pretend to follow a healthy diet, hang out with new “friends,” go home, read 100+ pages about some revolutionary, do other homework, sleep, and repeat. Half the semester already flew by yet there’s STILL another half to go. Time is going both too fast and too slow. You’ve done so much, but there’s still more to do. That’s why you better take your break when you want to. You’ve been working hard. Midterms are drawing to an end. You have beautifully thrown together pretentious-sounding essays and bubbled enough Cs on scantrons. It’s time to relax. You’ve done well, and it’s time to reward yourself for all the hard work you’ve completed. Recharge and then jump back into the madness.
4. Spend Quality Time with Friends
When you think road trip, do you think of Marshall and Ted’s adventures or do you think of the disgusting gas station restrooms? Well, let’s not think about the nasty pit stops and just focus on what long-lasting memories you will create with your friends. It’s a great way to get to know people. Being stuck in a moving metal box brings a lot out of someone. Navigate through Instagram-worthy detours. Be the best DJ the universe allows you to be. Poorly harmonize to some overrated pop song. Throw in that Rosetta Stone CD. Listen to an audiobook. Knock out in the backseat. Do whatever it is that people do on long drives. You might come out of your road trip having stronger bonds than ever or having fewer friends than what you started with. Either way, it’s great way to put relationships and friendships to the test.
5. Leave Your City to Appreciate it More
Here’s my reason for getting out of the city this weekend. I love New York City without a doubt; but the sirens, anonymity, and eight-dollar juices are draining. Most days, New Yorkers are proud of their tall cityscapes, but once in a while, we find ourselves feeling a little cagey. So, I decided to call up a friend and go on a mini road trip. I suggested we take the scenic route upstate and see some trees for a change. Everyone needs a break from time to time, even if it’s a break from their favorite city. I figured that being in the middle of nowhere would allow me to appreciate the busy lifestyle better. I remember looking out the windows of a Dominican diner in Sleepy Hollow and seeing nothing but a street lit by two lamp posts. I had fun the whole trip breathing the fresh air and awing at colored trees, but it was at that moment I that thought, “Wow. I miss New York. I like a city that refuses to turn off its light even when it is 3 AM. I want to go home.” We ought to remind ourselves from time to time why we choose to live in the cities that we do.
[Feature Image by Pexels]