Personal Narrative Essay

Mexico Comfort

Passover 2021 was a piece of what heaven might feel like. Like most people, my family was dealing with the stress of COVID-19. We decided that cleaning and preparing for Passover during a time like this would simply be too much to handle, so we decided to go to a Passover program at a resort in Mexico instead. We figured a stressless vacation and meeting new people would benefit everyone. The days before were chaotic, especially after my brother tested positive for COVID-19. About two days before we were supposed to have our vacation, we suddenly had to begin cleaning the house and preparing our own Passover. Surprisingly, nobody complained, and we simply accepted our fate. Internally, I wanted to punch a tree. This vacation that we had all been looking forward to for so long is suddenly canceled because of some microscopic speck? With no other choice, I gloomily continued cleaning things up. My father went on to spend many hours on the phone with the New York Government, trying to convince them to give us the green light to travel, and in the end, they agreed to allow us to travel. We were ecstatic, but also hesitant; we now knew just how small a detail could ruin an entire trip. We immediately stopped our cleaning and repacked all our bags, and finally, after some exhausting days, we arrived at the resort, where instead of chaos, there was infinite food, beautiful weather, and one of my closest friends.

Finally arriving at the very place we thought was canceled was surreal. Even more surreal was my friend excitedly waiting to show me around. The resort was mostly outdoors, but when the heat became too much, we'd step away from the beautifully clear sky and head indoors to grab a bite or just hang out in the gameroom. We settled in and, for a while, just walked around and sat by one of the many warm, clear pools. Like kings at a poolside, we were served everything from platters of food to piña coladas inside a fresh, sweet pineapple. While listening to the lovely chatter of people ordering fresh food and drinks, I could smell the beach just a couple of steps away, along with the cozy, warm breeze. All meals were served in the main ballroom, with a pathway containing enough food and ice sculptures to serve a starved town. The multi-course meals were fit for the house of a king.

I'd become ignorant of all the tragedies of the outside world, except the resort running out of fresh, juicy cantaloupes. Oops. Late into the clear, star-filled nights, my friend and I would scout the resort for all the secret doors and pathways. We were once again free to release our inner child and explore the pathways we found hidden behind the waterfall. We were free to have coffee, slushies, pizza, snacks, and whatever else we wanted late into the night. We'd mistakenly disturb our neighbors while talking on the bridge overlooking the resort and the stars. We'd sit by the poolside and watch the children happily playing in the water as their parents would finally catch a break and grab a drink. Everything around us was pure nostalgia for when we were young. Back when our ignorance was bliss. Sometimes, while staring up at the night sky, we'd feel at peace with the world around us, like nothing else existed. I wished I could bring back even a glimpse of that feeling back home with me, so that when life would become too much, I could just go back to this headspace and just relax for a moment while remembering the bright stars in the night sky.

There was a comfort in this experience that I only realized how much I needed after I had left. I had zero responsibilities and was free to wonder about however I wanted. Only afterwards did I understand how many constraints the world holds us in. The program had daily themes that were well-organized. One day was themed "Pirates of Playa". There were probably one hundred actors who were hired to play the role of pirates. There were displays, ice sculptures, flamethrowers, and full shows to provide a true feel of a pirate surrounding. One couldn't possibly be stuck in one's own thoughts, worrying about things, thinking about life or work. I was fully immersed in a luxury experience designed to keep you from worrying about the outside world and allow you to feel free like a child again. They did such a good job at this that I only realized their success after I had left and returned to the real world.

I've always enjoyed vacations like this. At the time, I didn't realise why I liked it so much or that it wasn't always normal to want it so badly. Like most people, life has its issues. Some days are better, and most days are worse. I had nobody besides my close friends to confide in. This program wasn't just a fun vacation. It was an escape. An escape from a world so full of chaos that a global pandemic, which was actively going on, felt like a small hiccup. At this resort, I was able to forget about almost everything. Especially small issues like the global pandemic. Ironically, the pandemic made the experience even better because management was required to cut the number of guests in half to legally remain open. This allowed the entire vacation to feel even more personalized and spacious. This personalized vacation was like taking a drug that provided the perfect amount of all the neurochemicals to allow for a relaxed, anxiety-free break from life. And believe me, it was better than most drugs out there.

People often assume that those who get to experience luxury things must be arrogant and spoiled. It is certainly true for lots of people. Little children were complaining about tiny luxuries that lots of people have never even heard about. These kids will likely never expect any experience with anything less luxurious. I don't think this applies to everyone who was in this program. There were likely lots of people in a similar situation to mine, whose lives aren't so perfect and have things to worry about. For these people, this program likely, or at least hopefully, acted as an enjoyable escape from their lives.

Like all good things, my vacation came to an end. The realization hit hard. I had to return to the chaos of the real world: studying for tests, enduring sleepless nights of stress, hoping the zero-degree weather would wait just one more day so I could stay a little longer in the comfort of ignorance. Already on the first day back, I felt the withdrawals from the vacation set in. I knew this would happen at some point, but my mind couldn't accept it until it was already here. Falling back into my normal life with my normal routine made me painfully aware of how dull and empty my life felt and how meaningless it was to spend my days listening to people talk about nonsense. I had once again lost control over my own life. I emotionally crashed. I still haven't recovered from the crash, but I learned that there are other ways to replicate some of the feelings that I felt on that program. Every so often, I take a day off to visit a park, wander through the mall, go for a drive, or just play video games with friends. I built small escapes into my life through hobbies, my favorite being cycling. There's something freeing about getting on my bike and riding wherever the road takes me. I've discovered hidden parks, quiet lakes, and peaceful trails where I can slow down, breathe, and take in the world around me. It's a simple but deeply grounding experience. It mimicked the at-peace feeling I got while still in Mexico. It makes me appreciate the small things in life a lot more, and in a lot more detail.

The program and the resort were comparable to heaven. Home may not be hell, but we shouldn't have to make that comparison to begin with. If heaven can exist in a moment of peace, maybe we can build pieces of it into everyday life. I know I can't live every day as I did in Mexico. Life doesn't just stop being chaotic because you've had one perfect moment. But that experience showed me that even in the middle of stress, there can be small pieces of heaven, like a bike ride, a late-night drive, or just sitting outside and letting everything slow down for a bit. That kind of peace doesn't fix everything, but it reminds me that the world can sometimes feel a little lighter. I've realized that I should go through life finding things I enjoy, building a lifestyle and career that I can be proud of. I need to find moments, people, and places that allow me to relax, feel peaceful, and free. And then maybe, just maybe, with the help of an extravagant vacation, I'll have built a life I can actually enjoy living.

Author's Note

I chose this topic because it is about an experience I often look back at. It was also fitting as a personal experience without being overly personal. I first wrote it by giving background before it, then I gave details of the place itself, I put some emotion and sensory details in it, and finished with the emotional aftermath. After rereading it and seeing the peers' comments, I added more sensory detail and emotional effects inside. I also decided to add a more detailed discovered worldview as a result. This allowed for a much cleaner and satisfying ending. I reread the essay a bunch of times throughout the creation process and changed up some wording and some details.

I used ChatGPT to help me review it the same way a peer would have. I was careful in the prompt to explicitly not allow it to give me any direct ideas or text, only to review and to mention what type of thing I can improve on, like emotional depth, need more information somewhere, could use sensory details somewhere, and things like that. I used Grammarly for all the grammar (I hope it is accurate; I have no idea).