You know that saying, "it's not the destination, but the journey"? That's difficult to believe, especially when the destination's Disney World, and the journey consists of 18 hours trapped in the car, jam packed with luggage, and oh, by the way, an irritable six year old. There are only so many ways to keep a child entertained while trapped inside a moving vehicle. After a while, one would assume ears would turn numb to the repeated "are we there yet"s, and constant groans. False. You see, there are three simple stages of a road trip: First, there's the initial excitement. This eagerness only lasts a short period of time, and is then followed closely by the boredom phase, essentially meaning grouchiness, which the majority of the trip consists of. Lastly, we arrive at the "revert" phase, during which emotions transform into excitement once again, as the destination draws closer.

As you can imagine, it's very difficult to maintain an optimistic attitude while your seat is repeatedly being kicked by a child, or, instead, you're the one in control of the kicking, simply out of pure boredom. However, as a child, I failed to realize the immense importance of staying positive, something that is, unfortunately, very commonly forgotten. Phrases such as "look on the bright side," and "stop to smell the roses," seem to crumple and become hollow, as they're repeatedly kicked around, losing the meaning that fills them.

That grumpy six-year-old I was previously referring to? That was me. My family and I were headed to Florida for Summer vacation, and that, of course, meant a road trip. I distinctly remember the day we left, beginning at the early hour of 5 am, and the feeling that I was the only one awake in the entire city. My thoughts were blurred by a swirl of sleepiness, my body trapped by a clutter of suitcases. I clung tightly to my bear, focusing all of my very little energy on forcing my eyes to stay open, though they continuously drooped. I was excited, sure, but not quite conscious enough to fully recognize that fact. I drifted off to sleep, slumped over in my carseat, only to be awoken shortly thereafter by sunlight shining through the windows, filling the car with light.

And that's when the eagerness hit. The chirpy chatter, excited squeals, joviality flooding the space. The "I-Can't-Believe-We're-Actually-Going-To-Disney-World" comments, the never-ending questions. Will we see Mickey? Will Minnie be there too? What about Belle? Ariel? Aladdin? I wish I was a princess, can I get a petty dress like theirs? I want to ride in the teacups, Mommy. Daddy, will you ride them with me? What if I throw up? What if it gets all over my new dress? Wait, Mommy, do they have cupcakes? The chocolate kind with sprinkles? What about - Long story short, Mom and Dad; I am so very sorry, I honestly can not comprehend how you were capable of tolerating me. Though the string of seemingly nonstop questions does, in fact, eventually come to a halt, there is still an entire list of available road trip games remaining: I Spy, Banana-Fanna, The License Plate Game, and so on.

However, the games finally reach an end, and then all that's left is phase #2. Boredom, fidgety-ness, attitude. At this point of the trip, all visions of the upcoming fun had faded, and my only concern was the fact that my legs were cramped, this thought being amplified by my intrinsic incapability to sit still. I resorted to watching movies, playing Beauty and the Beast a minimum of three full times in a row. As the car rolled down the highway, the sky gradually began to darken, along with my mood. The lights surrounding us blurred together as the sun set, creating an abstract array of red taillights and out of focus McDonalds signs. The energy, once again, began to subside to exhaustion. Yawn, after yawn, after yawn. After what seemed to be decades, we finally arrived...

At a hotel to spend the night. Nope, not even Florida yet. Can you believe it? My parents and I slept soundly, but awoke all too quickly, not quite ready to handle yet another nearly full day of driving, though it seemed to pass by more quickly than the first. My parents talked back and forth as I looked out the window, spotting a sign welcoming us to Florida; we were almost there! Welcome to phase #3. The return of giddiness. How much longer? Where are we? When will we be there? Are we there yet? What about now? Now? I continued to pester until the answer I received was finally yes, rather than an exasperated sigh.

Our hotel was safari themed. One look out the window gave the feeling of being in Africa, what with the giraffes and zebras grazing by lazily, enshrouding themselves amongst branches and leaves, hiding from my view. I remember my mom thinking it was so extremely intriguing, but I dismissed the idea immediately, replacing it with thoughts of tomorrow. When I'd wake up, ride all the rides, have the time of my life. Little did I know at the time, I'd be waking up with tired, itchy eyes. After all that time spent in the car, all the dullness, all the waiting... I was sick. Extremely so. Pinkeye. I remember feeling worse than ever before, like I had no energy whatsoever, no ability to move. And I cried. My vacation, all that I had been looking forward to, had just fallen to pieces before my very eyes.

However, my parents did anything they possibly could to assuage me in my sickness: Renting Disney movies, playing board games, trying their absolute hardest to provide fun for me within the confined room of our hotel.

And that's when I realized. That's when it hit me. Maybe I didn't get a chance to ride the teacups, and maybe I couldn't meet Mickey or Minnie or Belle or Ariel or Aladdin. Maybe Disney World didn't turn out to be anything I had envisioned, and maybe my vacation had taken an unfortunate twist. But maybe it didn't have to be that way. Unfortunate, that is. Because, well, I actually ended up having a great time, thanks to the optimism of my parents. Sickness and all, I managed to make the most out of our trip. And so, I made a promise to myself.

From then on, I would try to appreciate every moment. Because positivity can always be found, no matter the situation, whether it be laying on the surface, or buried, 80 levels deep. You just have to make an effort to look. It's all about point of view, mindset, optimism. I could have let my sickness get to me, I easily could've. I could've been mad, and I could've wasted the entire trip upset. But I didn't, and I'm so glad.

As humans, there's so much time we spend simply waiting for things to happen, and then we don't take enough time to appreciate them when they finally do. It's the little things, truly. That's what matters. The cupcakes with rainbow sprinkles, the movie you can watch endlessly, the way your name sounds when spoken by someone you care about. But what matters even more, is recognizing that.

I only wish I would've sooner. I wish I wouldn't have wasted 99% of the car ride, as long and tedious as it may appear, being too caught up in boredom, grumpiness... Spending all of my time focussing on an event that didn't even get the chance to occur.

If you view Mondays as a chore, that's exactly what they will feel like. If you talk yourself into hating school, you'll always be stuck in the mindset that you truly do. However, in reality, these things are not burdens; rather, opportunities. There's an immense amount of possibility hidden within each passing second. The moment you're living right now - it's in your hands, and it's ticking away. So, I'm telling you. Capture it. Seize it. Make it great. It's up to you.