I just arrived in San Diego a few days ago after a long roadtrip from New Jersey with my friend Linh. Within the course of 6 days, we covered a total of 3,700 miles and visited a total of 16 states. We were able to see tons of beautiful sceneries and the food and beers we had were amazing. The people we met along the way were also interesting—though we did get a couple of weird stares in the south, they were still pretty nice. Looking back at it, it was an awesome experience and it was definitely worth it. As Linh mentioned, we couldn’t have asked for more nor less, it was just right. (Ok fine, I wish I was still on the roadtrip right now because it was a lot of fun. Time literally flew by and 6 days felt so short, but aside from that little side note, the trip was great.) So, I was pondering over the past few days on what exactly I learned from the roadtrip because let’s face it, going on a roadtrip is supposed to be some sort of soul searching experience, right?! How could I possibly not have learned something? After kicking myself in the head a few times for not coming up with a mind-blowing soul finding story, I realized that the whole point was to not think about it. I shall explain. To summarize the entirety of the roadtrip, it consisted of a few things: (1) driving, (2) listening to music, (3) talking about the music we were listening to and about other stuff, (4) using our cameras to take photos and ridiculous videos, and finally (5) stopping for food, sleep, gas, etc. Although before the trip I expected it to be an action-packed soul searching experience, during the trip itself not once did I think about the whole soul searching concept. I was simply living in the moment—soaking each scenery change, enjoying the music and conversations in the car, having fun with ridiculous videos we recorded, appreciating the food and drinks we had, and finally going to bed with a clear mind. If I were instead trying to find meaning during the trip, I’m positive it wouldn’t have been the same. In retrospect, the reason why it was so hard to pin-point out what I learned is because I was expecting something extravagant, when in fact, it was very simple and to be honest I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The trip was a great reminder of the idea of living in the moment. The destination was the reason for the trip, but without appreciating the journey itself it would be a constant struggle before getting to the finish point. Obviously, in the context of a roadtrip, otherwise—that is, not appreciating the journey—might actually be harder to do. However, if we draw parallels to a career or running (actually… careers are a touchy subject, let’s stick to running), if in your mind you’re thinking about the finish line and how much you can’t wait to get there but if you still have 5 miles to run, chances are, you’ll give-up. Life should be enjoyed, why would we do otherwise?