Texan sees first REAL Cactus! You’ll never believe what happens next! *
As somebody who gets anxiety from driving I never imagined I would drive 1,800 miles by myself. However, I did just that last week. I had more fun driving 13 hours one way and 13 hours back than I have had sitting in my apartment for the past 4 months. The two full days I spent in Tucson with my friend Jordan were a perfect end to my summer and I couldn’t have asked for a better outlet for all this pent up curiosity from self-isolation.
*This title is clickbait. I hope that is okay.
Mountain [Wo]men
Jordan and Myself at one of the photo spots along the Mount Lemmon Scenic Byway.I have been living as a clinically anxious human for as long as I can remember. The thing that always gave me the most anxiety in high school was the idea of driving a car and getting my license. I waited until I was 17 to start the process out of genuine fear. It wasn’t that I didn’t think I could drive a car, I just didn’t trust others to be driving cars. As somebody who overthinks every possibility to a fault it wasn’t something I could easily let go of. Thankfully, i’ve worked very hard over the last few years on keeping my anxiety in check. I now know how to push passed my irrational, fears and experience the things I want to experience. I’ve come to realize that I enjoy adventures and I am not somebody who can be happy in complacency. If I want to do something I need to do it even if that means doing it alone. How I ended being both anxious and in desperate need of constant variety and adventure, I will never understand.
I grew up in a family that did not take part in a lot of nature activities. We went to the lake and swam plenty, but we never went outright camping or hiking. I was always a very curious child and I have now grown into a very curious adult. I am grateful that even though I am an overthinker, I am a curious one. The right amount of questions can get you places. That being said, I now because of this have a killer urge to go both camping and hiking. Since it was an Arizona summer I figured that would not make for a good first camping or hiking experience. We opted to take a long drive up into the mountains via the Mt. Lemmon Scenic Byway. There was one minivan I remember us driving behind that had all four of the windows rolled down. At one point there were four various hands of different sizes reaching out the windows to feel the mountain air and it got me really choked up. I now had yet another experience to experience. It feels so much better to be excited about where you’re going, than to be dwelling on where you could or should have already been.
I hadn’t shot any sort of portraits in a while so I graciously asked Jordan if she would be my subject and she did just as wonderfully as I had expected. She also was sweet enough to take some photos of me, seeing as I haven’t had any taken of me in a spell either. Reid Park.
My taking a killer selfie at a Love’s Travel Stop in the middle of nowhere Texas with a 12oz cup filled with gas station grapes (grapes not pictured).I decided to plan and take this trip in less than two weeks time, and it went smoothly and was such a rewarding and memorable experience. I broadened my horizons and have given myself the confidence to go do things alone even if it’s nerve wracking or anxiety inducing at times. I’m a independent and capable person. I know myself better than anybody else, and I’m so glad I didn’t let some of the overly paranoid comments some people made towards me about this idea stop me from doing it. I didn’t let other’s fears or insecurities keep me from doing something I knew I was more than capable of. Everybody has boundaries and I shouldn’t take other’s boundaries on as my own.
On a serious note - I thought about the reasons behind wanting to take this trip a lot over the duration of the drive. One of the major factors that went into me wanting to make this drive alone, is that my mother is very sick. She is terminally ill. I lost my father when I was a freshman in high school, and I have no siblings. Knowing myself, and my fears, I wanted to push myself to really do something on my own. While it may be true that the human condition is loneliness, it is a daunting thought to consider the weight of truly not having any safety net. My future is going to be very different from my past and present. I will have to adapt and be completely self reliant in all the ways a person can be at 23. This trip, for me, proved that I am going to be okay. Life can throw whatever mess it wants at me, and I can still push myself to accomplish goals and to better myself and my life experience. I am strong.
Soon things will change for me in a way I still cannot imagine, but life will go on and I will still feel joy and excitement regardless of any grief or sadness that may accompany it.