Staycation

It seems like this week is the universal week to go on vacation. Both my boyfriend, boss, and some friends are all in another country or on the beach for vacation, so my topic for this week’s LA Family Magazine column was an obvious choice. You can read the full article at its original source here and read the rest of my articles here.

When I tell people that I’ve only been on vacation three times in my life, they look at me as though I have two heads. No, I’m not a two-headed freak, nor do I have a fear of planes, cars or the sun. I’m also not anti-vacations. In fact, I would love to be able to go on vacation every year and have a few days of work- and worry-free relaxation.

There isn’t one solid reason why I’ve only been on vacation a few times in my 23 years of existence; it’s more of a combination of factors. Money is obviously a huge issue, as well as taking time off of work and trying to organize a get-together around my family and friend’s plans and preferences.

I try to take occasional weekend trips, even if it’s just to my boyfriend’s town or to a local lake, so I feel like I’m on a vacation. However, I don’t count a 3-hour road trip as a “vacation”, so my number stills stands at a measly three.

The first time I went on vacation was in elementary school when my family and I went to Maine. I don’t remember much about that vacation other than making friends at the pool and the cute sunflower bathing suit I wore. The next vacation was another family outing, this time to Virginia and Ocean City, Maryland when I was 16 for my brother’s BMX championship and some beach/boardwalk time.

My most recent vacation experience was during my senior year of college when I went on the traditional “Spring Break” to the Dominican Republic. This was the first time I had ever gone out of the country and the first time I had ever been on a plane. I saved up for six months to pay for the vacation, and it was well worth it.

So while everyone else is on their luxurious vacations, I’m going to try to keep positive by realizing that there are a few good things about my vacation-less life.

1.  I’m saving a whole lot of money. This isn’t really by choice; I just simply have too many other things to pay for that take priority over lying on the beach. As much as I’d like to take a vacation from my student loans, I just can’t.
2. Not going on vacation every year makes me really appreciate it when I finally do. I can’t tell you how good it felt to go on my first spring break in college and pay for it with my own money. The only feeling that topped that feeling was getting to relax- free of stress, technology and college worries in the beautiful Punta Cana weather.
3. It makes me unique. It also probably makes people pity me or think I’m a weirdo, but at least I’m standing out from the crowd.