I can’t recall how old I was, I only know that I was in middle school. Seventh or eighth grade, about eleven or twelve because I’m a little young for my grade. It was Thanksgiving break, and my mom wanted to use her timeshare points for a little trip. Hearing this in the earlier months I was very excited about where we might go because I never got to travel much in terms of vacation as I usually had basketball tournaments up and down the east coast that I’d go to instead. As break drew near my mom revealed we were going to the Holiday friendly Atlantic City, New Jersey, with all the attractions an adolescent on the beach in the winter could ask for. 

My dad couldn’t go because he had work, and I was missing basketball practices and a scrimmage during the time I was gone. My sister came, along with my brother, my mom’s lifelong friend and obviously my mom.  My sister had some friends coming down that way that were able to pick her up about halfway through the trip. So at that point, it just left me, my brother, my mom and her friend. Atlantic City is a great place to visit when it’s nice out, keyword nice out, but in November when it’s about thirty degrees and windy as can be, it equates more to a desolate freezing beach. Nobody is on the boardwalk, obviously no one at the beach, and barely anyone at the casino, which is saying something. Our days consisted of a little walking around and going into stores, and then complaining that it was too cold to walk around so we stayed in the hotel. This went on for a couple of days.

My bright spot of the trip was the visiting of a lighthouse, but not to visit the lighthouse, only because there was a basketball court next to it that my mom said I could play at if we went. I agreed after that because I hadn’t gotten to play all trip and had all this bundled up energy which was used to jump around in the hotel. The cherry on top was eating Thanksgiving dinner at Margaritaville, which I would honestly never recommend to anyone, it was so bad. Finally, the day I had waited for finally arrived, we were driving home. I don’t think I was ever that happy to be home from a trip in my entire life, but that never occurred again.

Looking back on that trip, I was completely miserable, which I honestly don’t blame myself for that part because it was a depressing setting in Atlantic City at the time. However, I don’t give myself a pass for actually acting like it and impeding the things my mom and her friend wanted to do. As time passed I realized that not everyone can even go on vacation, nor even spend a lot of time with their family. I was filled with a lot of regrets based upon this way of thinking, as it was really selfish of me at the time. Now I know I was only like twelve but I’d rather be hard on myself then, than figure it out the hard way later in life.

The trip really left a mark on me, leaving me to be tremendously more grateful for what I had. I realized the things that are important aren’t the materialistic things or the activities you do, it’s more about the people. I’m fortunate now that I can look back and laugh on it with my family but that’s the exact lesson I learned from it. Cherish those times that you spend with the people you love, regardless of what you’re doing, which I think is more relevant than ever with the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant. So for that, I thank Atlantic City for being a terrible winter vacation spot.