Every time we take trips, it’s a different feeling, depending on what time of the year, where and most importantly, who we go with. And while there were times that as a kid, I used to complain about having to go on vacation with my parents, the older I get, the more I appreciate those much-needed mini-breaks that remind me to it’s ok to take breaths every once in a while. What I’ve noticed however, is that most often after coming back from a trip, for a couple days, waking up in our own bed still feels a bit strange. It’s almost as if coming back from holidays always has a side-effect; these aftermaths differ depending on the kind of journey we’ve taken.
One of the most common side-effects of trips is self-pity. This usually occurs when you have a short but sweet love affair with your destination and once it ends, you have a hard time accepting that you must kiss it goodbye and let it go because as Nelly Furtado brilliantly mentioned: “All good things come to an end.” Thus, you get back and wallow in your small and uncomfortable bed with a glass of wine by your bed-side table, scrolling through the photos on your phone, reminiscing about the couple of days when the good life consisted of sitting under the sun with a glass of piña colada in one hand and a book in the other, with the sound of the waves crashing into the rocks. Once we’re stuck in this stage, we spend a good period of time, with our heads in the clouds and our feet off the ground before we can no longer deny that real life waits for no one. Unfortunately, during this stage, the thought of reviewing for an upcoming test or even looking over our five shifts in our schedule can seem completely unbearable and impossible for a while.
Photo via Unsplash
On the other hand, sometimes when we get back from holidays, we feel a sudden jolt of motivation to get back to our routine. I can’t be the only one who gets tired of living an unproductive and purposeless life after a couple of weeks! Sure, it’s nice to let our bodies relax and take some time off from the busy, chaotic lifestyle that we’re used to, but after a while, I always start to miss the little things like waking up in the morning to check my emails while drinking my coffee, gossiping at work with my colleagues, and having movie nights with my friends every Monday night. During these types of trips, the only thing you can think of on your plane ride back home is getting back into your own bed and snuggling under your own blanket.
Photo by Andrew Neel
This is a rarer kind of experience that I have not seen many people go through yet, but I do believe everyone does eventually experience it in one way, shape, or form at some point in their lives. There is a life-changing type of trip we take that changes our entire perspective on life and makes us come back a different person entirely. Whether you went on a spiritual retreat and felt a connection with nature or went to a rave party on the other side of the world, something during your trip made you realize that you no longer want to live life the way you have been; you come back home and you look at everything with a fresh pair of eyes. To me, this is the best kind of trip because it symbolizes a kind of revival, just as long as it’s a beneficial one.
Photo by Jared Rice
Like the cure to a bad hangover, the cure to an after effect of vacation mode is time. Most often, unless you have a life-changing experience on your trip, the influence of it eventually wears out so that you do get back to your normal routine with the few exceptions of every now and then sitting down with your friends and talking about the time you traveled to Paris together, while you plan your next trip.