Summer Vacation and Lesson Learned - Essay Example

My friends and I were heartily looking forward to our summer vacation in London and Paris. There were so many sites we so wanted to see and so many delights we were expecting out of our vacation. Unfortunately, events conspired to limit our enjoyment of our vacation. First and foremost, when we finally landed at the Heathrow Airport in London, we were met by a British Airways strike. We ended up with no luggage and, during our two-week vacation, we had to sleep in couches.

We also had no luggage during our entire London and Paris trip.  Lessons Learned I learned during this trip that it is best to expect the unexpected. No amount of preparation can prevent unlikely events from affecting us. We did prepare our luggage and prepare what we would need for the trip, and yet, despite the preparations we made, we still ended up dealing with so many inconveniences during our trip. Unexpected things, especially those beyond our personal control, are often those which cause us the most inconvenience.

And during these unexpected occurrences, I learned to cope and I discovered coping skills that I was not even sure I possessed. But, I discovered more about myself as the trip progressed and we continuously met many challenges and further inconveniences. I discovered that I can be a very resourceful person; that when the occasion calls for it, I could resourcefully come up with ways to survive without luggage in a foreign country. I also discovered that I can still manage to enjoy myself despite various conveniences that I have to do away with; that I could still manage to look at the glass half full, instead of half empty.

As a result of this experience, I now feel more comfortable about facing and dealing with unexpected challenges. I know I am bound to face these challenges in the future, however, I know that I do have the strength to deal with these challenges. I know that I can be resourceful in coming up with ways on how to manage these challenges and eventually come out with a better and stronger person in the end. I also feel that this experience gave me more confidence as a person.