I grew up in Maryland so I should be used to the low, freezing temperatures but after living in Florida for almost two years, my spring break consisted of shivering and chattering teeth.
I didn’t even know my plans for spring break until a few days beforehand. I had options like going home to see my dad or going to Key West with some friends. Ultimately, I chose a third option and drove to Virginia with my friend, Josh.
The main reason for this trip was a G-Eazy concert in DC but that’s only one day out of a whole week.
We started our journey on Saturday with an eight-hour drive, stopping in North Carolina at Josh’s sister’s house. We arrived late and overnight, time leapt forward an hour. By the time I woke up, everybody was awake and I met the cutest baby named Wayne. During Wayne’s nap, we went to get ice cream! With the weather rainy and below 30s, WE ATE ICE CREAM! It made the cold even more frosty but it was worth it. While there, I reminisced on my childhood by watching children shows like the Little Einstein’s.
The next morning, we left for Virginia. During those seven hours in the car, I started reading an e-book called Silence to pass the time. Surprisingly, it drew me in and I couldn’t put it down. By the time we arrived, we both wanted to jump out of the car. His parents were so welcoming, making it hard to leave. After dinner, we sat and watched a movie (pretty much what we did every night).
The following day, we picked up Josh’s friend, Austin, who flew in from Illinois. At first, I found him extremely weird but over the next few days, his personality rubbed off on me.
Although I started falling asleep at the dinner table, I met my uncle to catch up. Three years passed since the last time I saw him. I met his wife for the first time and learned of her family back in Thailand. Since I lost contact with a lot of my family after my mom passed, seeing my uncle made me realize that I should reach out to them.
On Wednesday, we took a trip into DC. At my request, we headed to the Smithsonian American Art Museum where we spent roughly two hours. I left in awe, wanting to see more and desiring the skills those artists possessed. Walking to the next museum, the National Museum of Natural History, I longed for warmer clothes.
Before we headed to the Metro, we stopped by the Washington Monument to take pictures. By the time we returned to the apartment, my feet were killing me. Before dinner, Josh’s father took us to an Asian food market to check out the various types of meat they sold compared to a regular, American grocery store. The differences were shocking to say the least.
When I woke up the next morning, I traveled to Maryland. Spending the day with old teachers at my high school began my trip since my friends didn’t have spring break until the following week. Afterwards, I had an early dinner with one of my closest ex-teachers and visited my old daycare lady.
Both people have influenced and impacted my life in ways words could never quite capture. No amount of “thank yous” could appropriately express my gratitude. When my plans for the night fell through, I took a spontaneous trip to Pennsylvania (making it the third state in one day) to see a friend. We spent the night talking and proceeded to get brunch the following day.
Around noon, I headed back to MD to meet up with a friend. Since it was Josh’s birthday, I decided to go back to VA in time to celebrate with him and his family. As a treat, we went to a crawfish restaurant; a new experience and a great one at that.
Saturday! The day of the concert! While Josh met G-Eazy, me and his friend walked around DC with his parents. When the time came for the concert, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. We had box seats, making it seem like we had our own little area.
Anthony Russo, Phora, and Trippie Redd went on prior to G-Eazy setting the stage for a remarkable night. Once G-Eazy took the stage, the whole building erupted as we all sang with him. In that moment, I let go of all my worries and cares. G-Eazy was performing and nothing else mattered. Afterwards, I felt euphoric, nothing could bring me down until…Josh and his friend started arguing and threatening to end their friendship. It was a mess but eventually they calmed down and we all relaxed again.
After an extremely relaxing week, full of mini adventures, the only adventure left was the painful 12-hour drive home. I learned multiple lessons while on spring break including that it doesn’t have to consist of a week full of drinking to be fun. I wouldn’t trade them in for anything, except maybe some more time off.