Anticipation and Recollection

Have you ever noticed that sometimes an activity you’ve done becomes better over time as you reminisce about it, even though it may not have been so wonderful at the time? Many activities that we undertake in life are comprised of more than just an actual event.

I loved teaching my students about the concept of a recreation experience. The framework was something that they could understand. A recreation experience was defined by researchers in the 1960’s as a multiphase experience consisting of five major aspects: anticipation, travel-to, onsite activity, travel-back, and recollection.

I used the example with my students that if they woke up this morning and someone told them today was Christmas, it would not have the same impact as all the actions that one takes to prepare for Christmas day. If that Christmas day was over and you had no memory of it, the same enjoyment and significance would not be evident for that year.

A recreation experience is the sum of all its parts–looking forward to it, traveling to and from as in the case of a vacation, the actual activity, and then the recollection and story-telling about the activity. Sometimes an activity does not go as planned, but it ends up in good stories to share with others at its conclusion.

I am about to embark on a 2-week trip for sightseeing and hiking. I am going with three friends. We have spent considerable time planning and preparing. Together we have shared emails, zoom calls, and conversations about logistics and tours we want to do. Sharing in the planning and being excited together has added immensely to the trip even though it has not yet occurred.

I do not know what our trip will behold. I do not look forward to flying for hours, and I want to enjoy passing that time. We are planning for the worst and hoping for the best.

One of the best phases of doing a trip is returning home and sharing with others regarding the activities. I will let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I am enjoying preparation. I am anticipating meeting new people, learning about a different culture, sharing fun with friends, drinking good beer, and having stories to tell when we return to bring full circle to our recreation experience.