Who Knew She Was Such a Bitch?!

Six or so years ago, I went on a ski trip with my best friend. We did everything together. We hung out on weekends and after school and were inseparable. But, as much fun as we had together, we could fight like no other, really cut to the core. In hindsight, going on a week long ski trip with her was ill advised, but I was 15 and thought we were soulmates.

The trip started off fine. We laughed and goofed around on the car ride to the mountain. We shared headphones and jokes and fell asleep on each other’s shoulders. It was a scene from a Mary Kate and Ashley movie. We settled into the house and OF COURSE we were sharing a room! Yeah there was enough space for us to sleep separately, but why wouldn’t we want to spend every single moment with one another?

I think the first fight happened within 24 hours of arriving. We got into an argument over a poem or something silly. Typical 15-year-olds who couldn’t accept that we interpreted the written word differently. We went to sleep and woke up and forgot about it. That was nothing. It was just a preview of the storm to come.

The next day we skied and snowboarded and ate marshmallows in front of the fire. We were back to normal, giggling and flirting with the cute older boys we met at the lodge. We walked arm-in-arm and tried to convince people we were sisters. Yeah, there were little snippy remarks here and there, but nothing too dramatic.

I don’t totally remember what caused the storm, I think it may have been something on TV. I made some sarcastic remark and she disagreed and I fought back. We pretended everything was fine, but it wasn’t. Then we fought over when we’d leave for the slopes or when we’d leave for the house, what we’d eat for dinner, who got to sit on the swivel chair and who got to use the fur blanket. Any time one of us spoke or moved or blinked, we argued.

Long story short: It was a downward spiral. It got so bad that at one point we fought over a toilet paper commercial. I think I said the jingle or the narration or something was stupid and that DEEPLY offended her. The car ride home was silent. I sat in the way back; she sat up front. I blasted Hilary Duff on my iPod and she ignored her mom. When I got dropped off at my house I stormed up to my room and vented to my mom, “SHE’S SUCH A BITCH!!!”

We didn’t speak for 2 weeks. Eventually we stopped speaking all together, I hope over something more serious than a ski trips. We weren’t soul mates after all.

Traveling is… stressful. Managing flights and itineraries and packing, then adjusting to a new place. There is a lot to think about when going on your vacation or work trip. So, it’s important to make sure you surround yourself with the best travel companion—and that isn’t necessarily your best friend.

Regardless of whom you bring, traveling will reveal the best and worst about that person. Friendships just might end. If you don’t want that to happen, you need to be proactive.

• Distance yourself. You might be traveling with this person but you don’t need to do everything with them. If Hulu had existed on our vacation, I probably would have dedicated several hours to quiet Revenge time and spared myself the disaster. Whatever you decide to do, take a few hours to yourself.
• Be open-minded. Your travel buddy might have weird habits and if you are on a trip with them, you just got to go with it. Obviously, if it’s like drinking human blood and slaughtering animals in the hotel room, you speak up all you want…unless you’re into that kind of stuff.
• Compromise. Try not to have crazy expectations for yourself, your vacation and your friend. You might want to climb the local mountain, swim with dolphins and learn a new language all in one day. Your travel partner might not. Pick a few things you would love to do and be ok if your travel partner isn’t into it. Try to have a healthy balance with your travel goals and don’t resent your companions if all of yours aren’t met.
• Lastly: RELAX! There is enough stress with traveling. If an argument starts, just let it go. If it’s something serious, you can wait to address it when you get home and have some time to think about the circumstances. 9/10 you are arguing because you are annoyed and not because the other person really did anything.

Featured image via Shutterstock

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