Describe a Journey That Did Not Go As Planned Cue Card

Who did you go with?

I planned the trip with my family. I love travelling by road so, it was a road trip. The view of a place when you are travelling in a car is an adventure in itself. It takes seven hours from where I live to go to Agra, so; it was pretty easy to plan the whole journey. I thought that it was only going to be me, my brother and my parents. But as we went to our car with our packed things and the whole planning, our neighbours came. They asked us where we were headed and they invited themselves to our journey. I did not say a word but it was a very awkward situation for me. I had to fake my smile throughout the journey.

What did you do?

I thought it would be better for me if I wore my headphones and did not interact with anyone, so I did that. But when I took my headphones out, my neighbour’s kid started mocking me. I had to maintain my decency to avoid any Fights so, I asked him whether he wanted to take my headphones or not. Fortunately, I always have an extra pair. But as I did give him my headphones, he broke them. My heart shattered into pieces and my anger went to a different level yet I controlled my anger. After we reached Agra, we had planned on living in a hotel for a day since it was too late. What we didn’t plan was to share our rooms. I had to share mine with that annoying three-year-old. I love kids but not that one.

Why did you dislike the journey?

I would have gotten a cab somewhere and departed on my own, disappearing to a location far away from our neighbours if it weren't for going to see the Taj Mahal there. I endured the entire trip with great patience, and when we returned home, my parents gave me money as payment for my patience. In the end, it was fun despite the fact that things did not turn out as planned.

Who did you go with?

I packed my things and some food items along the way. I took hours to convince my parents for the journey as they were dropping me there and finally, after making tons of obvious points to my mother, she convinced my dad for the trip. We always travel by road and so, this was not any different. My father called my uncle for the trip because he couldn’t drive alone. The trip took about five hours and then I had to give my exam after a night’s rest. We went on enjoying our time together.

What did you do?

But after we reached, I realised that because of the excitement of travelling, I had forgotten to study for my exam. The anxiety kicked in all of a sudden. Hours of restlessness were there and my sleep schedule was already messed up. I spent all my night walking here and there in my hotel room. I tried revising my notes but nothing seemed stable around me. I had forgotten all about the trip. I was also blaming all the travelling I did in my head for my irresponsible act. In the morning, I went to give my exam. Luck doesn’t always come in handy if you haven’t prepared yourself for it was something I realised at that very moment.

Why did you dislike the journey?

My exam went horribly wrong and my whole excitement had now been exchanged for feelings of nervousness and regret. I had lost interest in visiting any places by now. I told my parents that I felt sick because of the trip and could not make it to Hawa Mahal. We went back to our place and this was the story of how my trip did not go as planned. I believe, sometimes, it takes more than just planning to travel places.

Who did you go with?

I had planned what we would eat, where we would sleep, how the journey would go, what songs I would listen to, how many hours it would take and how many little places we could visit. I had googled a perfect spot to capture in my camera. It was a place or basically a point where on one hand, there was the way to church, the other had a way to a mosque and the other had the way to the temple. Imagining that place itself felt like a dream. I had also heard a lot about Banaras Hindu University and wanted to see what it looked like. The Ghats and everything amazed me.

What did you do?

I planned how we would travel to every place. We decided to go to Banaras Hindu University first because my aunt had some paperwork there. My eyes were filled with excitement and my spirit with joy. I sang on the road trip with my family and laughed my best. It was not exactly how I had planned but the rest was still yet to happen. After our arrival there, we came to know that there were some strong disputes going on in the University and it had led to a fight. All of us got scared because of the terror of the situation. The horror of the situation was scaring everyone to death and so, we spent that day in only one hotel room but we lived it out.

Why did you dislike the journey?

We spent the time laughing, singing and enjoying ourselves. It felt like I was craving for something like that my whole life. I forgot about my plans and lived in the moment. Things went back to normal in the morning but I tore my list apart and realised that living out the moment that we had was more important than how it could have been. I believe sudden changes can lead to an epiphany.