We all have those weekends where we take a fun, simple trip whether we are traveling home, visiting our friends at other colleges, or we just want to get away from Knoxville. Well, this weekend I travelled to good ole historic Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to visit my sister and I realized what the true pros and cons are of taking a weekend trip.

Pros

1. You get to abandon all of your responsibilities.

2. You don’t have to cook. Even if you don’t cook, you now have a good excuse not to.

3. You get a change of scenery. No hills. No construction. No reminders of school.

4. If you’re lucky enough to take the trips with your parents, you get free food for three days which is heaven for poor, college students.

5. You get a change of pace. If you’re used to a busy schedule, it is a great time to relax. If you’re used to a laid back schedule, a fast-paced city might be where you get away to.

6. You get to explore new places and stores that Knoxville doesn’t have.

7. You can challenge your taste buds at new restaurants, or if you’re a picky eater you can be basic and eat at chain restaurants.

8. Calories don’t count of vacation. They just don’t.

9. You don’t have to worry about being judged for wearing 4 puffy layers and resemble a sausage because you don’t know any of the people you pass and you will most likely never see them again.

10. If you’re in a relationship and its not quite working out, you can tell them that you’re going out of town for “awhile” and never say when you’re coming back.

Cons

1. If you’re like me and travel up north, you risk having your Sunday flight cancelled and you’re forced to miss all of your Monday classes as well as your sorority meeting Monday night.

2. You have to pack for all types of weather conditions whether it is snow, heat, wind, or sleet.

3. You might have to pay for Wi-Fi at your hotel so you start deciding if you want to pay $29.95 or if you want to continue ignoring your schoolwork until you get back.

4. You don’t get to the opportunity to spend your weekend catching up on Netflix and sleep.

5. If you fly, you are at the mercy of other people and you have to rely on them to drive you everywhere or you have to walk.

6. You spend money that you don’t have in the moment.

7. You eat unhealthily. Pizza, pizza and more pizza. Let’s face it, when in doubt everyone gets pizza for dinner.

8. It is difficult to fit in as much as you want to in a three day period. This usually happens when it is Saturday afternoon and you realize that everything you wanted to do is obviously not going to happen.

9. You struggle to find someone who is willing to watch your pet for free while you’re on your weekend trip. “Hey, can you remember to feed my goldfish while I’m gone?”

10. You get back late Sunday night and realize that you have 2 tests, a paper and a speech bright and early Monday morning and you stay up all night in a fit of self-loathing. 

Next time you decide to go on a weekend trip, make sure that you consider these pros and cons and you might just be able to escape an awkward relationship or you might just remember the crazy amount of homework that is due. Either way, taking a weekend trip will give you a really good or bad story to tell all of your friends.