Have you ever been so excited to vacation somewhere and it ended up being a total disappointment? I certainly have! I used to think popular travel destinations meant it would be full of fun adventures and nothing but happiness. It wasn’t until recently that I realized your vacation is what you make of it.

I was so excited to travel to New York because I remember it being pretty fun. But, then again, the last time I went there was about 4-5 years ago. The mindset I had before my trip to New York was it is going to be a blast because, well, it’s New York City - the city that never sleeps!

I was also taking this trip in order to attend my sorority’s convention, but the convention was only for two days and ended pretty early. My sorority sisters and I spent four days in NYC. I imagined us going out, shopping, socializing, and eating tons of amazing food. What I experienced was way below my expectations.

We ended up not doing anything exciting. Sure, we went out to eat at new restaurants, but nothing special. We sat around a lot, took a lot of time to decide what to do, and decided not to do anything because our hotel was pretty far from Manhattan. Plus, it was freezing cold! We all had the same mindset during the trip: it’s cold, I’m lazy, and everything is far. This prevented us from actually going out and exploring the lovely city.

I actually felt like I wasted my time in New York! For once in my life, I wanted to go home from vacation. As the days went on with us doing nothing, the trip seemed more and more like a chore.

This trip made me realize that it’s not just the place that makes it fun. Anything can be fun if you make it fun. If you’re stuck in a “boring place” with a couple of friends and nothing to do, you guys still have the ability to make it worthwhile.

If you keep a positive attitude and mindset, of course. I relied on the city, thinking just being there would make everything better. In reality, if we all were positive throughout the trip, full of energy, and pushed through the cold, we would’ve had a blast!