Departures

In the last two days I have been packing, graduating, and saying goodbyes. It has been difficult to know that I have made Alyse (my fiancé) and my parents both cry before I go. The tears that are coming as a result of this departure are coming out of the care that our friends and family have for us. The phrase “I am so excited for you” and “Why do you have to go” can come out in the same breath. I love Alyse and my family so all of these things are making our departure harder than I expected, but I am excited to hit the road.

I stayed with my parents and my sister’s family last night and my nephew David loved my helmet. He wore it constantly and made sure to put fingerprints in places I did not even know could get fingerprints on them, but it was good to stay with them. I had the privilege of exerting physical superiority over my older sister, Laura, who thought she could dunk me in the pool.

The trip's beginning is starting to feel similar to Forrest Gump’s run across the country because when I was loading my bike this morning a random man riding by on a bicycle came up to me and said “Hey! I read about you in the paper,” He then asked a few questions about when we were leaving and where our first stop was and on his way off he shouted, “Now I can say I was the first to see you!” And with that, our trip begins.