5 and a half
years ago, I was starting my sophomore year of college. In California. I was granted this life changing opportunity through
the National Student Exchange Program which I applied to during my freshman
year at Illinois State University. Over the course of the academic year I fell
in love with Southern California, but unfortunately the program was only a one
year opportunity, so a week after classes ended in May I was headed home to
Illinois. I returned to Illinois State University for my junior and senior
years and before I knew it I had student loans to pay back (those student loans…
lovely, aren’t they?). Luckily, I had a job (and parents that didn’t charge me
rent) that allowed me to afford my monthly loan payments while also being able
to save money. Two years after graduation, which brings us to Summer 2015,
almost all of my hometown friends had pursued jobs, opportunities, or further
education outside of the Southwest suburbs (Washington, D.C., North Carolina,
San Francisco- to name a few). I found it kind of ironic because my friends and
I always believed I would be one the first ones to leave the state post-graduation.
Everyone knew how in love I was with the West Coast, and I had already lived
across the country for a year before, so it was thought that I would venture
West before too long.
But… there I
was, 2+ years later, still in the Midwest going through the motions of daily
life. To clarify, I wasn’t unhappy… but I knew I wanted something different, something more. The idea of moving to California
surfaced again in early summer and I sketched out a plan of how I would pursue
it once I returned from my trip to Jamaica in late July. I was going to spend
my evenings and weekends at the library, rigorously applying to jobs & gosh
darn it, I was going to be in California by October. My mind was made and my
heart was ready. Or so I thought.
I returned
from paradise, and shortly thereafter my job transferred me to a different office location. My commute home was, on average, an hour long. I’m
not complaining, as I know so many people commute just as far, if not farther. But
let me tell you… once you get home, change out of your work clothes, and eat
dinner, the last thing you want to do is get back in your car and go to the
library to stare at a computer screen after you did just that for 8 hours at
work. So, needless to say, that didn’t happen too often. I’m sure I could have
been more dedicated, but hey, I was pretty dedicated to that 9pm bedtime too.
All of the
sudden, it’s October. I’m distracted by the Cubs advancing through the playoffs
and the leaves on the trees changing color. Not much (okay, any) applying is
going on, but I’m also not enjoying the new office at work too much either. The
end of October rolls around and around Halloween I get the crazy idea to just
stop, drop everything, & roll out to the West Coast. This thought hadn’t
really crossed my mind before because I really wanted to have a job lined up before
moving across the country but I was beginning to realize that this wasn’t going
to happen. I consulted with my family, which was terrifying because I was
scared to face their reactions. My sister and both of my parents all gave me
variations of ‘I was thinking the same thing’. WHAT. A. RELIEF. Of course I
wanted to pack the car and head out right then and there, but my parents
convinced me that waiting until after the holidays would be best.
Even though
I knew that California was what I wanted, my heart was split into two. I
struggled with the idea of leaving my 3 precious nephews along with the rest of
my family. If a genie would have popped up out of nowhere and granted me one
wish, you better believe it would have been to have my family come along with
me, hands down. I’ll skip the details of the goodbyes to spare myself from
shedding any tears, but I will say that over those last few weeks in Illinois I
was reminded of how many amazing people I have in my life. Although we may have
thousands of miles between us now, their love and support continues to surround
me.
My parents
and I agreed on a departure date of January 4th. My Dad agreed to be
my travel buddy (with no complaints, even though he would be spending his
birthday on the road) and my Mom gifted me her car for this next chapter of my
life. Yes, I am so spoiled, & yes, I have the best parents on planet Earth.
I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am for everything they have done
for me and most importantly all the support and love they have for me.
With that
being said, I packed up my room, and loaded up the SUV. The morning of January
4th, my Dad and I set out at about 5:30am. On the first day we drove
past ISU (so strange to drive past the exit that had been the destination for
so many years), right through St. Louis (mad at myself for never visiting this
city when I lived so close), up and down the hills of Missouri, and before we
knew it we were entering and then exiting Oklahoma, and ending our first leg of
the trip in Amarillo, Texas.
I was so
fascinated by the fact that each state we passed through had its own
characteristics that made it unique from the last one and the next one.
Illinois—well,
flat.
Missouri—It
started to get a little hilly and the limestone that ran along patches of the
interstate made for good scenery.
Oklahoma—Cows
and horses roaming in pastures, very green grass, mixture of hilly and flat. We
drove through both Tulsa and Oklahoma City… they both had that small city feel
that I found really appealing. Traffic wasn’t horrendous (& we even passed through
OKC during evening rush hour); it still had the ‘city feel’ without too much
chaos.
Texas—By
the time we entered Texas it was dark out, so I couldn’t see much of what we
were passing. The only memorable thing from Texas that night was passing their
rest stops that were lit up like the Texas Flag and how you couldn’t go very far
without seeing a billboard, advertisement, etc. that read ‘The Lone Star State’.
The next morning at the hotel, the continental breakfast included waffles in
the shape of Texas. So in conclusion, Texas really loves Texas. The morning of
Day 2, we were able to see more of the Texas scenery. It included a lot of
cattle ranches and we even passed a slaughterhouse or two (so heartbreaking--yes,
I eat meat, but still heartbreaking).
New Mexico—NM
was so butte (get it, get it??? Like beaut[iful]). They were actually plateaus
but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for that pun. We passed through
Albuquerque and drove through mountains with light rain/snow. Towards the end
of the New Mexico stretch the skies opened up to a gorgeous blue with puffy
white clouds and pretty red/orange plateaus off in the distance.
Arizona—Our
destination for Day 2 was my Grandma’s house in Sun City West, AZ. We decided
to stay two nights in Arizona to be able to spend time with Grandma and also pad
our traveling schedule with an extra day in case of bad weather or any other
unforeseen problems. Arizona was mountains and desert, nothing too thrilling at
first. Then we stopped for gas and switched drivers (I had been driving). About
20 minutes after departing the gas station we entered a really mountainous area
near Flagstaff that had a lot of downhill, twisty, high speed sections. Of
course by this time it was dark and foggy, down pouring, with semis everywhere.
It was a pretty terrifying couple of hours but my Dad was a trooper and got us
through it safely. Thankfully, this was the only ‘bad weather’ we encountered
in our travels. We made it to Grandma’s house, ate dinner, and played a few
rounds of Rummikub (her favorite). The next day we helped her take down the
remainder of her Christmas decorations and ran some errands. Thursday morning we
went out to breakfast for Dad’s birthday before heading to California.
California—My Dad had me drive the last stretch of the trip from AZ to CA so that I could
get a feel for the trip for when I go to visit my Grandma in AZ. It was only
5.5 hours, and a fairly easy drive. We entered sunny California, and our
destination was at our fingertips. We were making good progress when the
gaslight came on and there was no gas station or exit signs in sight. Thankfully,
we came over a hill and TADA there was a sign for a gas station only a couple
miles up the road. We filled up the tank and set out for Carson, CA. As we got
closer to LA and the highways became more intricate I felt so proud of myself
for maneuvering through the “traffic”, only to discover that we were still
about an hour out of LA… lol, but fear not… I survived all of it nonetheless.
We arrived
in Carson at my friend Jenn’s house where I will be temporarily residing. This
adventure wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for Jenn and her family
opening up their home to me, so for that I am forever grateful. When we arrived
her mom and niece were at home, and her brother showed up soon after. Jenn
eventually came home from work and we all hung out and ate dinner together-
complete with a birthday cake for Dad. I think my Dad felt very reassured that
he was leaving me in good hands after spending time with her family. Friday morning I drove my Dad to the airport
and had to say goodbye to the last ‘piece of home’ that I had with me. It was
very hard, but I only had a few moments to sulk about it before I was back on
the 405 navigating my way back to my new home.
I have been
in California for 2.5 weeks now and although I miss my Illinois family and
friends a whole bunch, my CA family and friends have made me feel at home and
keep me so busy that I barely have time to feel down or sad. Technology is
amazing and makes the distance much more tolerable; I love my Saturday morning
Skype dates with my nephews J, as well as the phone calls, text messages, postcards,
etc. that I have received from friends and family.
[For all the
people that know how my first stint in California started 5 and a half years
ago- be proud that I have yet to call my mother crying! Haha]
If you would have asked teenage me where I would be at this
point in time, I can guarantee my answer would have been far from “California”.
When I moved out to Northridge 5.5 years ago it was for a boy & I don’t
regret that decision one bit. As crazy as it may have been at the time, it was
the best decision I could have ever made. & if it weren’t for Cal Poly Pomona not participating
in the National Student Exchange Program the year I applied, I never would have
ended up at my 2nd choice- Northridge. & if that didn’t happen I
wouldn’t be sitting on my laptop right this very second at the Carson Library
writing about my travels for you all to read. Oh, how fascinating this thing we call Life is.
Each and every
day we continue to add onto the beautifully intricate webs we are weaving. I am so hopeful and excited for this journey I have just begun and I can’t wait to write about
and share more of my experiences and adventures.
Xoxo
Kaila
