On June 5, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school year. My fifth grade classmates joyously screamed — it was finally summer! But I couldn’t join in with their enjoyment; I only had one thing on my mind: my family’s annual summer road trip. My parents felt they needed to carry on this tradition that they had had with their own parents — but I didn’t see why they had to continue the miserable cycle.

Summer vacation is meant to be fun, but back then, these road trips were not — the time I was forced to spend with my family was not always enjoyable. A plethora of annoyances ALWAYS bothered me, whether it was my baby brother screaming until we played I Spy with My Little Eye with him, or my mom forcing us to listen to outdated ‘80s music. 

Unfortunately, being the extremely car sick person that I am, I could never watch TV, read or do anything else to distract myself from the chaos. Instead, I could only sit there helplessly. 

To make things worse, the Acura MDX we always drove was fairly spacious, but it seemed to shrink to the size of a toy car when the whole family squeezed in it. The air was humid, I could stretch neither my legs nor my arms and I couldn’t sleep with the sounds of yelling and screaming. It was pure misery. 

I had always thought these road trips were revolting — that is, until I turned 13. My older brother was almost off to college and my younger brother grew out of his screaming phase and — dare I admit —  was kind of cute. My family, who had always spent all our time together, began to drift apart. My parents were busy with work and taking care of my younger brother, while my older brother was utterly consumed with high school. This left me, as the middle child, alone. 

So, when the bell rang to signify the end of 8th grade, I was ecstatic. 

In a rush, I climbed into the car and enthusiastically urged my dad to start it. I was so happy to be in a cramped space with the family I had failed to realize was so important to me. The drive to Nevada was nine hours long, but I enjoyed every second of it, relishing in the chaos and yelling, and forming laughter and connection. 

From then on, my summer road trips transformed from being my worst nightmare to the activity I look forward to most during the summer. Road trips may seem grueling and annoying, and they’re definitely not enjoyable when you’re carsick, but in reality, they bring people together, and I will forever be thankful for them.