I looked through a bunch of photo albums on my computer the other day. I was hoping to find a picture that would bring back a bunch of good memories and give me an idea about what kind of person I am, because honestly, I’m not so sure. Then I came across an album from my spring break trip and remembered all the little details; I remembered the thrill of going somewhere thousands of miles away without my parents, the crave for In-N-Out, and most importantly, the excitement of going to new places.
Spring break was the perfect time to get away from school. It was after college admission results were mailed out so it was a great way to relieve any stress that was built up from the anticipation or any disappointments. My two friends and I had been discussing possible cities for us to spend a week in when we all agreed on visiting a city that none of us had been to. Of course, there were many cities in the states that we had never been to but we wanted to go somewhere big and somewhere grand. We came to the conclusion that we would spend our spring break in a city where there’s tons of things to do: Los Angeles.
Planning our trip in L.A. wasn’t easy. There were many moments when we felt like forgetting about the entire trip because there were many things that limited us. We wanted to find a place to stay that was at least decent and clean yet affordable. However, that wasn’t what stumped us. Since none of us were of the age 21, we were not able to check-in to majority of the hotels in the city. After a few days of debating between possible hotel candidates, we finally settled on one in the Marina Del Rey. Soon after, we began planning each day and night of our stay, hoping to be able to fit in everything we want to do, see, or eat. We all had an epiphany when we took a final look at the list of places we wanted to go each day. How were we going to get to each place? Our destinations ranged from the Marina, Santa Monica, Third Street Promenade, Venice, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and more. In a city as large as L.A., it’d be difficult getting around without a car. None of us had our driver’s license so a car rental was never even in the picture. Then we thought, why not just take public transportation? We researched and studied the city map for days until we found an agenda that would be most efficient in terms of money and time. Everything was settled. Before we knew it, we were getting on a four-hour flight to Los Angeles.
We were three eighteen-year-old girls with a minimal budget and a map in a city we were completely unfamiliar with. Surprisingly, we didn’t run into any trouble along the way. This experience wasn’t just to forget about the colleges that had rejected me, nor is it just a memory to me now. It was a trip that showed me how much I love traveling, seeing new things, and trying different food. Now, I’m encouraged to visit other cities when the opportunity arises. But next time, maybe I’ll have better means of transportation!
At El Pueblo de Los Angeles
