crossin the country

current location: illinois
states visited: new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, ohio, indiana

so i've headed off to california with jordan, matt klinman and amanda. said my goodbye to brooklyn and wesleyan, which were hard. but the hard goodbyes and rejections i've faced in the past few months, although and painful processes, prepared me for this trip. my last visit to wes was still a good visit, even though it was sad to leave. but graduation has happened, and it's no longer my stable and supportive community which i relied on during school and it's important for me to work on moving beyond that and to find comfort and stability in myslef and the new spaces i am in. the job and apartment woes also caused some stresses, but have helped me gain prespective and maintain focus on goals in all my endeavours. finding as much clarity as possible within myself, will help me avoid feeling let down and discouraged. i'm looking forward to seeking some balance in my post-graduation life, doing things that make me happy and visiting/meeting wonderful people.

on weds morning we headed out from brooklyn in a super packed car. we had lunch in philly and i was so lucky to call ralph and find that he had taken the day off and he was able to come down and meet up for an hour. it made for a great first stop on the journey, getting to see ralph and sit on the penn campus while we got big brothered by mad people with cameras.

then we headed out to pittsburgh for the night where lauren was an awesome host and so kind to welcome us into her house. she has a beautiful, comfy and cozy home with lots of great and colorful furniture and art, and amandas future girlfriend nona (the dog).

early morning we headed out and drove a bit around downtown pittsburgh which was pretty nice and bustling and surrounded by some beautiful mountains and lots of bridges. it was a beautiful day and we drove through penn, then ohio, stopping at "tony pacos" for lunch in toledo, where they had buns signed by obama. early evening, we arrived in chicago where we were greeted by Baba Ghosh who brought me home for the night while the others cause mayhem in chicago. tomorrow we start heading south to arkansas! pictures to come!