Teens September 4, 2017 Issue

A trip to remember

Tegan Dry

I had been looking forward to this trip for months. I was on a glorious flight to South Africa—one of my favorite places in the world—to see my extended family and do service work for a not-for-profit organization that takes high school students to South Africa to do sustainable community service. I couldn’t wait to buckle up and take off! I love long flights and always take advantage of the opportunity to watch movies, read, listen to music, and sleep.

Unfortunately, I landed in South Africa with cold symptoms and pretty bad jet lag. I almost felt selfish to be feeling this unwell because instead of spending my first day enjoying the beautiful country with my grandma, all I could think about was how terrible I felt.

My initial thought was: “Go to bed. You just need to sleep it off.” So I did. Giving up a few precious hours I could have spent with the cousins I see only once a year, I slept. But when I woke up, I didn’t feel better at all. My grandma, a longtime Christian Scientist, Sunday School teacher, and Christian Science practitioner, came into my room to see how I was doing. I told her I didn’t want the way I was feeling to ruin my trip.

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