It was a crazy Thursday night as I was sitting in a study room down the hall. While studying was being drowned out by good music and painting, one of my roommates walks in with an excited look on her face. As it was about 11 p.m. I was starting to regret being so distracted the past few hours rather than studying for my exam the next day. "We are going on a road trip." This was the perfect escape to my long past hours of distracted studying as now I could be distracted by future plans.
If anyone knows me really well, they know how obsessed I am with leaving campus and exploring around. I have a wandering heart, so staying on campus for more than a couple days in a row feels very out of place for me. Having so many exams and projects last week, I had been confined to overwhelming grey, tall library and study room quarters for almost four days straight. So the idea of a road trip eased my stagnant soul immensely.
That next afternoon three of my best friends and I packed out bags and headed out. The best part of road trips are noticing the different stages during the ride. As everyone hops in the back we pile in all the luggage into the trunk. There is always one person quick to snatch the aux cord which can really make or break the trip. If you're in a car with me I guarantee I will begin each trip with loud music, body-throbbing bass, and all the windows down. Old throw-backs, hardcore unexpected rap, and alternative music streams through the speakers while everyone jams out together. This is one of my favorite parts of a trip. I think a group of college kids rocking out to great music cruising down a high way are some of those feel-good memories you will never forget. This is such a raw moment of pure joy, when everyone is full of laughter and adventure in their hearts. There is something about a group of college kids driving on a spontaneous far away adventure listening to 2000s musics from middle school with our hands out the window being overtaken by the wind's power.
Soon after, the munchies kick in. Even though we have only been driving 10 minutes and I JUST got on the high way, the nearest drive-through becomes an essential. Everyone gathers their pocket changes, yelling through the windows to the ordering machine, and laughing at how incapable we are of performing such a simple task. After the bag of food, all the contents are passed around to the scavenging pack of animals int he back to be devoured. Happy stomachs and satisfied passengers are heard from their quiet mouths and chomping jaws.
After some more jamming, the "I just ate and now I'm sleepy" begins to kick in and the volume descends and the hype of the trip calms down. This is where we start with the light-hearted conversations of what we are excited for and how we all love being such good friends. Then, before you know it, the "purpose of life" and deep conversations come about. These are my favorite moments. This is when you truly get to know some one, what makes them tick, and what they're living for. You get to learn about the hardships of their past relationships. You get to stare at the colorful receding sunset and the beauty the Earth contains. This is when people become very introspective about life and about those in the car with them. There is something about the raw serenity of these conversations that I am so keen to. Hearing people's passions and loves and dislikes and struggles connects us all on such a unreserved level.
These are the moments I cherish the most. While college is full of parties and tailgates and all the rage of the typical college kid's weekend activities, my favorite has to be trips like these. These are moments I want to live as much as I can. These are the friends I cherish so much.
