Thoughts from the Road PT. 3

So its official: The Trip is now over. I am writing this sitting in my room back at school, back in the dismal reality of New Jersey and College winter. What I would like is some time to reflect on this trip, and what I taught me and showed me. Unfortunately, I spent about a third of the drive doing hw, so that should give you an idea of what my schedule looks like now that I am back. So with the small amount of time that I do have, I’m going to kind of list observations/things I learned, and extrapolate them as time permits.

-Back to my first post on the trip, it is really cool how much smaller the world seems now. I mean, we drove across and back the United States in a week. Not easy, but very fun nonetheless.

-Its interesting that, where most people would have cabin fever from being in a dodge caravan that long, we grew into it. It was our home for 8 days, and we treated it like that (yes, right down to the fact that it was an absolute mess). But we had a routine in the van, it became a nice home away from home for us. We had a sleeping area, food, well, everywhere, a rotation on driving, it was nice. I am almost sad to see it go….almost. Its been a long, strange trip, and I am very happy for the way it played out. We toyed with many variations (number of people, whether or not to take an RV, etc.) but I think we accidentally stumbled upon the best one. Three guys, one van, 6 cities, 6500 miles of road.

-I was thinking the other night, and this in a way is very close to being just as large a culmination of my college career as I could get. Four years ago, driving to Philadelphia would have been taxing, and today, I organized and planned this trip. That’s pretty cool. I had to use a lot of the connections I have made over the years, as well as all of my social competence and ingenuity. Not to say that driving across the country is a laudable achievement, but its kind of cool to think of in the regard of the different skills I used.

-Seeing the evolution of our culture and its roots. Its odd, driving through an area, listening to the radio, etc., you can get a good general feel for an area. Also, if you know the history of an area, you can see how the different regional cultures shaped these cities. Its amazing how every city has such a distinct and unique inherent personality.

- In thinking about my future and where I want to move to, I gradually came to a conclusion as this went on. There is no right answer. I keep looking for the perfect fit and everything, when in reality, I could make any city a perfect fit. I met so many people from so many diverse backgrounds, that it was impossible to not realize that your experience is what you make of it, not what the area makes of it. I met:
-native Chicagoan in san fran
-native LA in san fran
-Native LA in Chicago
-etc.
and all of them were happy. The focus of their happiness wasn’t what their respective new home offered, because they could find what made them happy in any major city. What made them happy was the fact that they were experiencing it all in a new city. I also think that’s what allowed us to get along so well with everyone we hung out with: we shared that same adventurous spirit with them. In all our travels, we may have hung out with 1-3 people that were actually still in the place they grew up. This makes my decision easier (because now there is no pressure to find the perfect place) but harder at the same time (because now its harder to distinguish between which cities I think I will be happier in).

-Over the course of the trip, we hung out with a huge age range of people (19-28). Most of these people were working or going to school in locations that they were not raised in. It was interesting to see how different ages reacted to the shock of being in new areas. One couple we met in Chicago were in their late 20s and had moved there to go to grad school after working in the career world a couple years. They were acclimated so much quicker (it seems) than someone who did it younger. Then again, it could have been because they did the move as a couple, who knows. It was cool to see how different people react to the move that I am planning on doing, and seeing that more than one person goes through the same progression of dealing with it.

-All in all this was an awesomely fun trip. But I didn’t go on this trip to only have fun. I saw this as an amazing learning and maturation experience. I suggest it to anyone. In talking to people on our trip, I realize that I have very slowly and quietly done lots of awesome traveling in the last couple years. I have been to and partied in so many of the biggest cities in America. (LA, SF, Vegas, Memphis, NOLA, Austin, New York, Philly, Boston, Chicago, everywhere in between) and driven through dozens more. I have seen the natural climates and landscapes of deserts, mountains, forests, etc. I have seen the way that the entire country lives. And I am only 22. Granted, much of my experience in these cities is limited, but it is still experience. I believe that it is such an enlightening and enriching experience, I love it. I am hooked to the road. My traveling has given me a much wider window on the world, a stronger sense of confidence in myself to survive once I am independent, plus some really good stories.

- Its amazing the worlds you can travel to in a days time. Entire worlds that exist independently of each other. Each city is a microcosm society. It gives you a feeling the scale of things, that you can be somewhere else in a days time starting over.