The Trip Nobody Asked Me About

I was deep in my internship, and in the middle of Sagaflow, an event-driven order and inventory system that had taken over most of my thinking. Even my sleep had a message queue in it.

Then my phone buzzed. My friends had booked flight tickets to the Maldives. They hadn't asked if I was free or if my work allowed it. They just sent me the confirmation like it was already settled.

I said no. Then I said no again, with more reasons. Deadlines, commits, the whole list. They didn't argue. They just kept sending me Maldives photos until I gave in.

I made some arrangements, told the people who needed to know, and left my laptop's worries behind as much as I could. It worked out, which it usually does when you stop assuming it won't.

The trip was everything an unplanned trip should be. No itinerary, no schedule, five of us deciding what to do next based on whoever was hungriest. We lost track of time and nobody minded. For the first time in weeks, my head was quiet.

I came back and the system was exactly where I'd left it. A few days away had actually made me better at the work, because I could finally see the problem from outside it.

If there's one thing I took from it, it's that your 20s are the time to say yes to this stuff. Nobody knows what the next few years look like, and the work will always be there. These friends, this kind of free time, and a trip nobody planned won't always be.