Money!

It’s late and I can’t sleep so I’ve decided to blog my time away…

I just came back from a trip to NY, Washington, Boston, and Montreal with Benita's family. It was definitely a lot of fun. I finally met Benita’s father which wasn’t as awkward as I thought it might be. We saw Hairspray and Les Mis in New York and ate a whole lot of seafood. But what I really keep thinking about when I look back is how “money” didn’t define my experience there.

That comment might seem kind of weird and out of leftfield but it stems from the fact that I used to go on a lot of similar trips with my own family. My family isn’t the richest nor is it the poorest but we don’t usually have much spare money to go on extravagant trips. We always, and I mean always, had lots and lots of fun. However, I think in the back of my mind I’ve always thought that being rich would make our trips that much better. No restrictions on where we could go and what we could do.

Beni’s family is pretty well off and I felt bad because they paid for everything. We spent a lot of money on expensive food, watching Broadway shows, and staying at nice hotels. But the time that I spent with them was almost exactly like going with my own family. The extra money they spent didn’t define the experience. What I remember isn’t how good the food was or even the Broadway shows. It was the struggles to walk through Time Square in pouring rain, getting lost everywhere, laughing at each other, and drinking very very salty onion soup. =p

No amount of money would have made any of my trips different; whether more or less, money did not define my experience. It should not define who I am. It’s only a luxury that is nice to have.

I have a lot to learn.