Every single day, find a glimpse of vacation. This is a (paraphrased) quote I once saw on Pinterest that changed the way that I viewed the concept of vacation. (I wish I could credit the original speaker, but it’s hard to narrow down the original anything due to the sharing nature of Pinterest.) As a girl who loves trips, simply looking forward to the next break can be tempting. However, vacation doesn’t have to include travel. Instead, I started to set aside small parts of my day to serve as a much-needed vacation. From February 14 to February 20, I recorded my small, daily “vacations.”
On Valentine’s Day, I went on a sunset run. My 20-minute run is part of a running program that I am doing, and it has quickly become my favorite part of every day. The pink clouds delicately swirled above as I ran on the road below while listening to my running playlist, which features artists such as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and The Weeknd. The beautiful South Florida palm trees in my neighborhood give the excursion a tropical feel despite simply being around the corner from my house.
One of my favorite parts of vacation is breakfast! Staying in hotels that serve breakfast is essential for me. I love the leisurely stroll to the lobby in the morning, pouring a cup of coffee and fixing a plate of food that has already been prepared. While I unfortunately do not have access to a culinary team who can make a delicious, appetizing breakfast for me every day (sigh), I did use my leftover Valentine’s Day chocolate to craft this oatmeal bowl inspired by chocolate covered strawberries.
Eating yummy foods is another beloved part of any excursion. Are you sensing a theme here? On Friday, my boyfriend and I tried a simple, affordable shrimp alfredo recipe. In the spirit of vacation, we ate it in front of the TV watching “Gilmore Girls,” of course!
Road trips add a fun, unpredictable element to any vacation, and this Saturday was no different. When some original plans were canceled, my boyfriend and I headed to help friends move in the Orlando area, accompanied by “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)”on our drive. After the essential tasks were out of the way, we were able to spend time with our friends at dinner and briefly explore the area. I ended the night with a vacation treat: Starbucks hot chocolate.
Sunday was jam-packed, but finding a vacation was not challenging. I spent some time simply catching up with my people at a friend’s house. Pizza and wings were ordered, homemade cookies were baked and jokes were made. This fellowship was the perfect way to end my busy week.
I always associate vacation with sleeping in late. Mondays are rarely busy for me, so I took advantage of the lack of responsibilities and slept until…11:30 a.m. Yes, this is incredibly late, but I could tell I needed this sleep. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to conquer my to-do list.
While it may seem as though the start of midterms week might hinder the daily vacation, a stressful week simply means that your mind needs a daily vacation more. To combine work and play, I delved into my homework while sipping on the creamy coffee I made using my lovely French press. The 60 degree weather made this the perfect, cozy way to complete my daunting AP Stylebook reading.
Spring Break is coming up soon, but don’t wait until March 9 to vacation! Brainstorm your favorite aspects of breaks, whether you like shopping, exploring, eating or another vacay component. Then, simply set aside a few moments to vacation every day.