Over Spring Break, I had the chance to get vaccinated with the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine. While the three hour drive to Danville, Illinois was rough and the chills and fever I got the next day weren’t fun, it was definitely worth it. Getting vaccinated has felt very empowering and has reopened many doors that Covid had previously closed for me. Now that the school year is almost over, I’ve been thinking forward to the summer and of all the things that I’ll be able to do that I couldn’t for the last year or so. Here are the top five things I’m looking forward to doing now that I’m vaccinated.
- Movies
I love going to the movies–when you have a sister who works in Hollywood you don’t get much of a choice. While I’ve been able to watch plenty of films on streaming platforms over the last year, none of it has been close to the experience of sitting in a movie theater. With release dates getting pushed back, I don’t have a particular movie that I’m looking forward to seeing in theaters nor do I really care, I’m looking forward to the experience. From taking forever to pick a movie, theater and time to waiting in a long line for overpriced popcorn, and then finally walking out of the dark theater to see that the sun has set and it is now night time, the experience of going to a movie with friends is something I’ve really missed and can’t wait to experience again before my friends and I all go off the college.
- Travel
As some of you may know, my mom is a flight attendant for American Airlines. That is a pretty sweet situation. For starters, my mom going to work often means I have OC for an entire weekend. More importantly and more related to this blog is the fact that I can fly for free. It isn’t as nice as you would imagine however, I am not guaranteed seats on a flight but rather can hop on any empty seats free of charge. This means waking up at ungodly hours to try and snag the seat of someone who overslept and missed their flight, getting trapped in airports far from home, and running from gate to gate trying to make connections: overall an experience that has a little charm I guess. Covid has axed any and all travel plans of mine for the last year and I can’t think of any better way to celebrate an end to quarantine than getting somewhere warm and sunny. My family is planning on going to Florida in June, spending time on Marco Island as a nice relaxing get away while also taking a swing through the Everglades to satisfy my dad and my more adventurous sides (Those of you who follow my insta know about the Koala pic, I’m thinking about doing the same thing with an alligator this time). This is gonna be my family’s last family vacation as college and my dad’s retirement are future roadblocks which is a sad thought but after all this time cooped up at home, I just can’t wait to hit the beach.
- Late Night Food Runs
This one is a little more specific but I am excited to a full scale return to indoor dining. While many restaurants have reopened, they are still under restricted hours and some places like McDonalds aren’t open indoors yet at all. Assuming that changes, I’m excited to make some late night food runs, rolling up to a Mcdonalds with a full car at 1 am. The drive through experience has nothing on dine-in fast food. First, I don’t like people eating in my car, it creates a mess and even without spills it leaves the car smelling like french fries which gets old. Second, my car’s cup holders are broken and too expensive to fix which makes it hard to bring food and drinks from a restaurant to somewhere else. Finally, eating in a car ruins the social element of getting fast food with friends. My car can only fit four people comfortably, 5 at the most which means we often end up taking two cars, splitting us up and taking away some of the great conversations that occur at a McDonald’s at 1 am. At this point, I’m fine if their ice cream machine is broken every single night, I just wanna walk in to the familiar glow of the golden arches.
- Going to the Gym
While going for runs and doing TikTok workouts was fun for a while, I was very happy when I was finally able to go back to the gym last summer. While gyms have opened, my gym still has heavy restrictions in place which prevent things like pickup basketball, something I love to play. Additionally, during quarantine my parents cancelled our family’s lifetime membership and moved us to Edwards Health Center. Most people at Edwards are 50 or older and the equipment is geared towards this older crowd, making it hard to get a quality workout in. This summer, I hope to trade in the ellipticals for a Trap Bar and either get an individual lifetime membership or mooch off of my friends who go there. I’ve really missed being able to see people I know at the gym and it has been hard to get fired up and motivated to max out on a lift when I’m next to an elderly guy doing weird calisthenics with 5 lb weights. After a quarantine of junk food, it’ll be good to get back and hopefully turn the tide against the potato chips.
- Concerts and Festivals
I think one of the saddest moments during quarantine last spring for me was when Lollapalooza got cancelled. All year long, I worked through AP classes and extracurriculars telling myself that as a reward I would relax and let loose for four days during Lolla. Since this never happened, I’m hoping that everyone else brings the same energy as me this year and plans to go twice as hard. While Lolla isn’t officially back, I have faith that it will go on in person in some capacity and with other things like Summer Smash set to go on, I think by August I will be in Grant Park horribly dehydrated but vibing hard. From taking the train into the city surrounded by other teens to becoming a sweaty and sunburnt mess after a few hours, I miss every part of Lolla (even the layer of dust and dirt that you shower off at the end of the day).
I hope I am able to do all of these things and urge everyone to go get vaccinated so they can safely as well! Let me know in the comments what other things you guys are looking forward to once COVID restrictions are mostly lifted.
YAY for your vaccine, Owen! I am looking forward to many of the same things. I just went back to my gym about 2 weeks ago, and it has done wonders for my mental health. Working out at home just wasn’t cutting it.
Wow!! It’s great that you got vaccinated! I miss so many of these things too! I think a lot more things will be relaxed and start opening up. Traveling is something that I’ve really missed with Covid as well. After graduation I always wanted to go backpacking through Europe or go back to China for some of the summer, but unfortunately I don’t think that is going to happen:( Thank you for sharing and congrats on getting vaccinated!!
Hi Owen,
I am also really excited for many of these things, although I am not the biggest fan of movie theaters. I am especially looking forward to traveling (and if I were you I’d definitely capitalize on the free flights); since my sister and I are both graduating from our respective schools this year, we are trying to plan a road trip now that we have both been vaccinated as a last hurrah before she starts work and I go to college. I also really enjoyed getting back to the gym and on a consistent workout schedule. Thank you for sharing and I hope you get to experience all of these things in the near future!
Hello Owen,
Do you have any regrets and/or concerns having received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine after the stories have come out warning about a potential link between that specific vaccine and cases of blood clots? I know quite a few people who, like yourself, received this vaccine before the news started to break and the vaccine’s distribution was halted, and luckily none of those people have cited personal concerns. I hope you are feeling the same. Regarding the rest of your blog, I think you’ve put together a pretty solid list. I’ve actually had the opportunity to attend two movies in extremely limited capacity in the past few weeks, and I must sadly say that there really is not much in the way of good movies to watch. I’m hopeful that the movie releases start to improve as theaters begin to expect greater attendance. Enjoy your newfound freedom!
Owen this is a great and well rounded list! Honestly, some of these things I haven’t done for so long I can’t believe they used to be weekly occurrences like going to the gym! I also recently got vaccinated but mine was 2 doses so I have still have to get my second dose and then I should be all good to go! I think the main thing I am looking forward to is traveling again! My family and I did go on spring break but we were trying to be extremely safe and honestly although it was nice to get away it in some ways took the fun out of it. Although I will continue to be safe and follow all the guidelines it will be a relief to know that I am pretty much safe and just get back to normal vacationing! Overall, great post!
Hey Owen! I have had my first shot and my second shot is in a week (just in time to be fully covered for prom), so I am also excited to return to some type of normality. Many of the things I am looking forward to are the same as you. My family also cancelled our Lifetime membership because of restrictions, and I miss going to their spin classes (my Peloton just isn’t the same). I was also looking forward to Lolla last summer, but I am more skeptical than you about this summer; I think it will take until next year for Grant Park to return to its former glory. Lastly, I have actually enjoyed the late night drive-thru runs. One of my friends has a minivan, so we all pile in together to get Taps or McDonald’s, sparking many of the late-night conversations you describe. Here’s to being vaccinated!
Great list Owen! All of the things that you listed are things that I have missed, and things that I am also looking forward because I got my vaccination as well. My number one thing that I missed this year was also concerts and festivals. I went to Lollapalooza in 2019 for one day and couldn’t wait to return the next year for all four days. To say I was devastated when it got canceled would be an understatement. During the past year, there were times where I wasn’t sure if college students would be allowed to go on-campus but with the extensive vaccine distribution, I am hopeful that we will all be able to experience a normal freshman year of college.