I was in stasis at 24 years old. The saying goes, “The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley,” and I was no exception to the rule. It wasn't without trying, but all my life I've been sabotaged. I felt like I had no hope, no control over my future. It took a little more finagling for me than it takes for some, but eventually events led me to the moment I would take control of mine. I woke one morning feeling as though something were amiss. I looked at my bedside clock; its chipper green digital glow was telling me I had 11 minutes to get my ass to work. I checked my alarm – it had gone off, but I'd obviously slept right through it. Though unusual for my character overall, sleeping late had started becoming something I couldn't control. Not having time even to curse myself, I quickly dressed and made a beeline for my shoes and the door. I made my way, running, across my driveway to my car, the red scoria gravel shifting and crunching under my feet. After stabbing the key into the ignition I slammed my car into gear, stomped the clutch, and fired up the engine, its eight-cylinder roar matching my self-directed fury. I let up the clutch hard and the tires spun as the vehicle tried to engage gears whirring too fast, kicking up a red spray of sharp, choking dust. None of this helped me get started on my 45 mile trek into town any faster. The middle of nowhere was not a very convenient place to live by any means, however it did have some advantages. While on the road owned and maintained by my family, I was able to go as fast as I wanted to. The roads, paved with the same scoria gravel as the rest of the rural “back roads,” were sinuous and slippery. This made them unsafe at higher sp... ... middle of paper ... ...bout after that. But the seed was planted, I was plotting in my head. I still liked the idea of moving to a beach town, but I had no clue what I'd find when I got there. I decided that drastic times called for drastic measures. To hell with what would come! I'd always handled everything the world threw at me anyway. Why couldn't I now? I packed everything I had into my car that night, left a note for my parents, and took off, and never looked back. Over the next two days, with my cat to keep my company, I trekked my way west. No more dust cloud to obscure my vision, no more outside forces to get in the way of my life. Only open road and the hope of better things to come. At the end of my journey, I got to see the sun sink behind the ocean for the first time, watching the light get quenched by shadow made of ripples, and I knew I'd come where I belonged.
changing my life, but retreating from them as March approaches. But I decided to carry
I wasn’t even outside but I could feel the warm glow the sun was projecting all across the campsite. It seemed as if the first three days were gloomy and dreary, but when the sun on the fourth day arose, it washed away the heartache I had felt. I headed out of the trailer and went straight to the river. I walked to the edge, where my feet barely touched the icy water, and I felt a sense of tranquility emanate from the river. I felt as if the whole place had transformed and was back to being the place I loved the most. That day, when we went out on the boat, I went wakeboarding for the first time without my grandma. While I was up on the board and cutting through the wake of the boat, it didn’t feel like the boat was the one pulling and guiding me, it felt like the river was pushing and leading me. It was always nice to receive the reassurance from my grandma after wakeboarding, but this time I received it from my surroundings. The trees that were already three times the size of me, seemed to stand even taller as I glided past them on the river. The sun encouraged me with its brightness and warmth, and the River revitalized me with its powerful currents. The next three days passed by with ease, I no longer needed to reminisce of what my trips used to be like. Instead, I could be present in the moment, surrounded by the beautiful natural
The drive to cross the Kentucky border had taken hours and hours of strenuous patience to finally arrive in another state. The view was by far country like as hints of cow manure could be smelled far from a distance. We drive through small towns, half the size of our hometown of Glen Ellyn had been the biggest town we've seen if not smaller. The scenery had overwhelmed us, as lumps of Earth from a great distance turned to perfectly molded hills, but as we got closer and closer to our destination the hills no longer were hills anymore, instead the hills had transformed to massive mountains of various sizes. These mountains surrounded our every view as if we had sunken into a great big deep hole of green pastures. Our path of direction was seen, as the trails of our road that had followed for numerous hours ended up winding up the mountainous mountains in a corkscrew dizzy-like matter.
When I wake up to the ear-splitting sound of my alarm clock, and blindly search for the snooze button, a sudden thought dawns: "What am I doing?"
I spent the next few years stuck in a dismal abyss waiting for something to change. Then something did. I was finally old enough to get a job asking people if they wanted fries with their order. I made just enough money to purchase my own medication and the little that I had left over I spent buying books. For the first time in a long time my mind was quiet and I was able to focus. I was starting to enjoy quiet time reading books. I started with the books I avoided from elementary school and eventually worked my way up. My vocabulary was slowly growing
I make my way through the woods; I am familiar with my path that I don’t even mind that the towering trees have blocked out the sunlight from seeping in. I know exactly where I am going. The trees are endless and lost in the sky above. An outsider would have been lost here for days. I walk on through until the towering trees stop being menacing and the sunlight becomes more and more apparent with each step. The sky above is no longer shards of indecipherable green leaves but the soft and inviting blue of the cloudless sky. I am now in the light completely, the sunbeams washing over me. I just need to walk another mile to reach my destination.
Now I had the old car racing down the road and off the ridge at something close to 80 mph simply because that was all the speed I could wring out of it. I'd made one turn, but there was one more ahead before we entered the valley and the town that lay astraddle a creek. The next turn was a sharp, banking left-hander, edged by a dozen or so white posts laced together by steel cables, and oncoming traffic was obscured by a little hill.
I jumped out of my bed, rushed to the window and took a very deep breath. The morning air was full of special fragrant. I could not understand that scent; just remember that it was quite special. Now I know that it was a scent of freedom. It seemed like I could see all the molecules that were dancing in the rays of the sun as a little cartoon bulbs: very light and happy.
It’s September of 2009, the semi-truck is sitting outside with all of our belongings in it, like an airplane waiting to take us away. Today is gloomy and raining as usual, but I know I’m going to miss it. The sun has started going down; we all get into the vehicles we’re designated. Me, my Dad, and Jade our Boxer into the truck, Mom Jaycee and the other animals into the car, and my Aunt Tina and Grandma into their suburban. It’s bitter sweet, I am so excited to go to a new city, new state, new everything, but I’m leaving behind everyone I grew up with. My closest friends who thought I was funny, not weird. Who I consider my brother, Daniel, and my mom’s side of the family all left behind. We begin driving, the truck brakes releasing
I neared an exit and pulled off the highway then rode down a lonesome road filled with empty cars and rubble on the street. I came to a stop when I arrived at a spot check, mandatory to enter the small settlement. Two flatbed trucks were blocking the road in, accompanied by guar...
As my brother and I passed the luxury of Malibu, the scenery suddenly shifted as I mov...
I stopped walking and looked up at the faint stars. The seagulls were flying overhead. They were screeching and swooping at the water. I started to wish I were one of them, flying free without any restrictions or limits. I listened to their voice, the screech. Deep down in I could understand what they were saying. I can't explain it, but I was so in love with the moment I thought I saw things as they did. I was in company of animals that had no concept of time, and no worries, and I was contempt with that. I closed my eyes and the faint sun warmed my face, as if shining only for me. The warmth made ...
Walking, there is no end in sight: stranded on a narrow country road for all eternity. It is almost dark now. The clouds having moved in secretively. When did that happen? I am so far away from all that is familiar. The trees are groaning against the wind’s fury: when did the wind start blowing? Have I been walking for so long that time hysterically slipped away! The leaves are rustling about swirling through the air like discarded post-it notes smashing, slapping against the trees and blacktop, “splat-snap”. Where did the sun go? It gave the impression only an instant ago, or had it been longer; that it was going to be a still and peaceful sunny day; has panic from hunger and walking so long finally crept in? Waking up this morning, had I been warned of the impending day, the highs and lows that I would soon face, and the unexpected twist of fate that awaited me, I would have stayed in bed.
I woke up around one o’clock thinking it was nine in the morning. I quickly rose out of bed to see if my roommate was awake. He was passed out from staying up late the night before and it was obvious that he was still exhausted. I proceeded to do my usual morning routine, although it was the afternoon. I came
I never really thought about where my life was going. I always believed life took me where I wanted to go, I never thought that I was the one who took myself were I wanted to go. Once I entered high school I changed the way I thought. This is why I chose to go to college. I believe that college will give me the keys to unlock the doors of life. This way I can choose for myself where I go instead of someone choosing for me.