I wasn’t enrolled in summer school, and I didn’t have a summer job this year, which were both a positive and a negative (money doesn’t grow on trees). So, I took it upon myself to have the summer of a lifetime. After working extremely hard my first year of college, I decided to put the vacation into my summer. I booked a flight to London with my siblings. I had never been there, but I always wanted to go, and the fact that I had relatives there was an advantage! The plan was to stay a couple of weeks, soak up the culture, do all he tourist attractions, and hopefully at the end of it all, become a little bit British. The weeks I spent in London were part of the best time of my life. I cannot even describe how much of an experience it was to be overseas and to learn about the English culture. The fact that cars drove on the other side of the road, the different stores and the little English homes all fascinated me. By the end of my trip, I would say I had over 1,000 pictures because I literally snapped a picture of everything.
Going overseas opened my eyes to many new things, things I would have never known if I stayed in Chicago. I never knew how much of an American I was until I went to London. It’s this certain thing we do, that I can’t even describe—like the way we walk and the way we talk. I picked up on British slang. For example, soda pop is “fizzy,” and a bag of chips are, “a bag of crisps.” And just in case you’re planning on making a trip there for future reference, don’t tell anyone that they have nice pants because pants mean underwear. To the Brits, Cheryl Cole is a huge pop star. She is on every magazine and all over the television, but I’d never heard of her before. London is just “over the pond,” but literally a whole different world away.
I knew that when I got back to Chicago, jet-lag wasn’t going to be the only thing I needed to get rid of. The vacation was over. I spent countless weeks sleeping in and roaming around London Town. It was time to get back to reality, and get out of the summer state of mind, which was easier said than done.
For about two weeks, I was in a summer slump. You know, it’s that feeling that you know you have to get up and do something productive, but you don’t have the will power to actually do it. Well, that was me, and knowing myself, it was going to turn into a habit if I didn’t fix it. Many people after coming back home from vacations, find themselves depressed because you have to leave the vacation mindset behind, and head back to the old routine. Some people bounce back fast, others take a while to readjust. I asked one of my good friends, and a frequent traveler, Jamane Meija, about tips she had on getting back to reality following a vacation.
“Just try to spend time with friends and family,” she says. “Do the things you enjoyed doing before you left for vacation. That’s the best way I adjust.”
Jamane was right. The tip here is to take it easy. Everyone feels a little depressed coming back from a vacation; just make sure you get enough sleep and keep yourself busy. Alternatively, you could go out for a run, do some retail therapy or anything active.
After taking Jamane’s advice, I started getting back to my old routine. I began preparing for school, and I started my quest for a part-time job.
Remember to get back in the habit of things you were doing before vacation. That will make the transition a lot easier. Vacations are all about getting away, leaving reality and having a small taste of paradise. The sad thing is you have to get back to reality sooner than later. I advise everyone to go and have wonderful vacations and make the most out of summer, because once it’s gone, it’s back to reality.
Photo Credit: Billy Montgomery
