In the month of April, I have jetted off to Seattle, had a stay-cation in Davis with my best friend during Picnic Day and my 21st birthday, and traveled to Denver to watch my brother play volleyball. These past three weekends have been jam-packed with fun and now … well, now I am sad.
I have been forced back into the everyday life of a broke college student. With no more trips planned, no more money in my bank account, and no more big events to look forward to, this upcoming May seems to be a metaphorical “May Gray” in sunny, sunny Davis.
These mini weekend trips have been more than fulfilling. My soul has been refueled and my love for family friends has expanded. So naturally, I thought that I would be ready to tackle the rest of my vacation-less spring quarter.
Turns out, I am not ready. After I hopped off the plane from Denver and unpacked, I was immediately hit with a line drive of stress. I sat in a coffee shop and instead of sending in my resume and cover letter to internships, I stared at my screen and daydreamed about the really good massaged-bison burger that I ate in Denver and the surprise party that my friends threw me (and my sore calves, courtesy of Seattle’s massive hills).
However, I think that it is healthy for me to re-live these things, at least to a certain extent. I have felt so much love in the last three weeks, and it feels good to embrace the memories. In fact, I think reminiscing will keep me feeling that love until the next fun event of the quarter.
I don’t really know why I am writing this, or what the purpose of this is. Maybe it’s to justify me not reading The Communist Manifesto right now, or maybe it’s because I want to put it out there that post-trip depression is a real thing that causes angst. Maybe I just like being really, really unnecessarily dramatic. It happens to the best of us, after all.
If anyone has experienced something similar to this, I think a good dwelling period and “take me back” captions are fine, healthy even! Take advantage of the fun times to keep you motivated through the rough patches and until the next fun times. Not every day can be a vacation!
“Post-trip depression” really took a hold on me. I am definitely going to be living in the fun of past weekends until they become less tangible memories, but dang, am I ready to create new ones already!