On the road again...

There was a point when I was very little that I wanted to be old enough to walk to the bus stop on the corner all on my own. 

Most people my age (22) would be petrified that their parents still take them to the bus stop in the morning. But as the bus was taking me from Washington, DC to New York, NY, I suppose the feeling of embarrassment is unnecessary.

I admit as the bus took off, and I looked back at my father as long as I could before the bus turned the corner, I had tears in my eyes. Definitely the kind of tears that in the movies threaten to become a full-blown sobbing fit if unleashed.

Now, as the bus travels along, I can’t help but think of all the things that I might have left behind. I keep lifting a hand to my belly to feel the bulge my passport makes in the travel wallet under my shirt. My mental checklist has been checked and re-checked hundreds of times already, and I’ve only been out of my house for an hour.

I was lucky enough over the summer to be able to stay with my parents in the home I grew up in. Taking odd jobs helped me increase the amount of money in my bank account. This summer prepared me for the year ahead, and I would like to think that I am ready for any obstacles that might pop up. Given that relative peace of mind and heart is the outcome of a summer with my parents, I can honestly say that the pangs of embarrassment are weak and short-lived. 

Getting dropped of at the bus stop is not embarrassing; it is a gift from my parents. 

1 day left...

I spent the second to last day home finishing up my to do list: setting up my netbook, tooling around with my new Kindle (!!!!), and packing my big camping backpack. I’m taking the bus from Washington, DC to New York on Wednesday, staying with a friend in the city for the night, and then flying on Thursday night. 

Still excited, still scared, but finally prepared. It’s taken two years of working 2 or 3 part-time jobs in college and a summer of saving to get to this point.

This is the plan as it stands: 1 night in New York, 1 night on the plane from New York to London, 4 nights in London (visiting my sister, Carlyn!), 2 nights in Bath (taking in “the waters”), 1 day in Salisbury (Stonehenge!), 2 nights in Holyhead, Wales, and 1 night in Dublin. After that, starting September 11th, I will be working on various farms around Ireland.

Keep following me ‘cause I haven’t even started yet!

Floating

You know that feeling of floating in the ocean?
The feeling of squinting into the bright, blue sky, examining the stark white clouds and knowing at any second a wave is going to wash over you and ruin your personal contemplation?
That’s where I am.
This trip is the only thing that is keeping me sane.
Those clouds provide me with focus. I’m floating here, for no reason in particular, and I watch the clouds. Something that is so intangible becomes a rabbit, or a sailboat, or a flower, or a horse…. And you somehow know that if you could just get up there, you could pet that rabbit, captain that sailboat, pick that flower, or ride that horse.
But you can’t get there. Cause there is no solidity in the water for you to stand on.
So you float in the salty water. And you know that someday you are going to touch those clouds, but until then you have no purpose, no additional goals. So you float.
Those unsettling waves wash over you: no summer job, most of your friends have deserted the area, your trusty car now belongs to your younger brother, and there are no quick trips to Oberlin.
This summer is floating. I would call it drowning, but there is no desperation or lack of air. I can envision my trip. Everything I do somehow gets me closer to it. However, I cannot touch it…. Yet.
2 months… (2 months, 1 week)

Purchased Ticket for $334.21

Today, June 5th, 2011, I have bought my ticket from New York, New York to London, England. Plans for where I will be staying in Ireland are being finalized.
People, this is actually happening!
(This post was originally published June 5th, 2011 at 4:51 pm)