I guess this is growing up
It's nearly 11 p.m. Pacific (which means 1 a.m. real time) the night before Alisa and I set off on our second cross-country road trip. I know I should be asleep but I just haven't done enough writing lately. Lying in bed with a notebook and pen is worth defying sleep, even for this jet lagged girl. (Heck, I get jet lag flying from Jacksonville, Fla., to New York City!)
I think your early- and mid-twenties must be full of crossroads, becasue I think both Alisa and I are at such points again. As we set off on our 2003 trip, she was out of school and seeking adventure. That came in the form of an Alabama apartment, a roommate she barely knew in advance and a host of new foods and phrases. (I'm fixin' to fix me some grits. J'eat yet?)
I was also at a new point: weeks away from starting graduate study in a field I feared I wasn't cutthroat or talented enough for. We had few strings attached as we drove west to east, pausing only for friends and photographs.
Now Alisa's got a job and (more importantly) a loving boyfriend at the end of her drive. (HI JASON!) And though the trip was initially planned around my work schedule, I've found myself between jobs and succeeding (even if not financially!) in the very industry that scared me so.
Maybe I'm a little spoiled, but I feel like this is what my twenties should be all about. We're allowing ourselves freedom to take chances, but there's also an awful lot of space for fun.