About 2 weeks ago, i embarked on a life changing journey, with promise of adventure and growth. I moved to L.A. Packed my bags and car and drove 3000 miles by myself. I had a friend propose to accompany me but i had gotten used to the idea of going myself, considering i was moving to the other side of the country by myself, i figured i might as well get used to it. Plus i needed the space in my car. The drive took me six days, i stopped to see the U.S.S. Alabama and was blown away. the living conditions where poor with common rooms holdingup to 40 beds with 3 bunks each. I'm currently living in a room with 3 bunks and six beds so that had put things in a different perspective. The entire house has 14 guys and 14 girls. Kind of a Real World L.A. ("reality" TV show) but more on that later. I also stopped by the Houston Space center. Saw a real space shuttle and cockpits close to the amount of space i had in my car. Here i was complaining about a couple hours of road all alone in a cramped space when this one astronaut had 32 consecutive hours in this little cockpit circling the Earth. Granted , the views must be incredible but just like the pretty desert after a couple hours of isolation things start looking repetitive and the novelty wears off. The entire experience was about relating different challenges to real life and having to conquer them or simply put "deal with them". Life hands you a deck of cards and you just gotta know how to play your hand. Surf the wave VS Drown scenario. The most reoccurring challenge was keeping myself entertained while covering distance. For most of the desert (Texas/Arizona). I had no cell reception, no pandora music, no radio stations. Saved by 2 old DJ CD pouches i had. Everyday i seemed to find a better solution to each problem so the drive got slightly easier (knowing i was closer to my destination helped). Sitting on my pillow helped my legs and back adjust to the constant gravity. On the last day i even thought about playing playlist off my laptop, and just like that i had gained an extra 3 hours of good music. My last stop on the road was the Grand Canyon. The closer i got, the more i wanted to just drive straight to LA instead of taking a 5 Hour detour. I could not be happier about having decided to take the detour. The Grand Canyon was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. So big and powerful, you could feel an energy emitting from it, almost as if you could achieve anything. The on top of the world feeling was quite literal. Being the adrenaline junky that i am, i ventured down into parts of the canyon that where more secluded. I just sat there, taking it all in, pondering on my new life and the unlimited possibilities of this adventure i'd embarked on. I watched the sun set and waited for the splendid array of colors that where coming my way. The day turned into night and i went on my merry way making it all the way to LA after 8 hours of road. I'm not saying the trip was all rainbows and unicorns, it would have been way funner and entertaining with a friend but the trip wouldn't have had as much meaning.
Don't be afraid to do things that scare you because you'll never get the joy of overcoming a fear. The only way to achieve success is overcoming the fear of failure.
Tegan