Looking back on the last 10 years, I'm amazed at how my life has changed. 10 years ago, I had just moved back to NM, started seriously working on my bachelor's degree while living alone with barely enough money to survive. I had a nice apartment even though all of my furniture was still in Hawaii. I slept on an air mattress and used paper plates and plastic forks. I used to sit in my little apartment and wonder, "How did I get here?" and "Is this where I belong?"
I remember driving to NM with my best friend. We started in West Palm Beach and drove northbound and westward for 3 days. My little Acura Legend was packed to the brim with household goods my kind and sweet mother had purchased for me because I had nothing with me when I left my husband except for one suitcase and my cats. The cats were in their carriers, protesting in the only way they know how because to them, car trips are a waste of time. Honestly, I think they would have preferred to be walked to NM..
So we said our goodbyes to my family complete with hugs, tears and my mom continually asking me if there was anything else I needed for the trip. Stephanie was great. She was fearless about our trip. I, of course, was not. I had no idea why I was doing this. The only thing I was sure about was school. I had to finish my degree and UNM was the place I was going to do that.
The first day of our trip was long. We seemed to drive for hours on end. Every so often we would pass through a small town. Very few cars were travelling on the same road as us so for the most part, we were alone. At one point, we stopped for gas in Alabama. We had gotten off of the highway and turned onto an old country road. I figured we were going to go maybe a mile and there would be a gas station. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. The road was windy and seem to stretch for miles and miles. On either side of the road, there was nothing, but thick brush and woods. I wanted to throw breadcrumbs or chips out of the window so we'd have a path back to the highway because I didn't want to end up like Hansel and Gretel.
Finally we found the gas station. We hadn't seen anyone in miles. I was a little scared because we were in the middle of nowhere. The gas station owner came out and actually filled the tank for us. He was even kind enough to check the oil level of the engine and the air level in the tires for us. I was simply shocked.
Anyway....once we found our way back to the highway, we encountered one of the strangest things I have ever seen in my life. In front of us, there appeared to be a black something in the air. It wasn't a cloud as far as I could tell, so I kept driving on at 80 mph. The closer we got to this apparation, the colder the temperature dropped. Once we passed into it, drops of water started to hit the car. Within seconds, we were driving through a curtain of water. I couldn't see the road at all. All I could see was rain, sleeting off of the windshield in buckets. The car sounded like a deafening roar as we made our way through that storm. I was scared.
I woke my best friend up by smacking her really hard because she had been sleeping. Once she woke up, she calmed me down. She said, "Can you feel the tires grip the road or do you feel like they're slipping? Slow down until you can feel the tires. Don't worry. We'll be ok."
I reluctanly followed her advice and slowed down a bit. Amazingly, as quickly as the storm had started, it ended. The sky opened up and the sun shone down on us. We had made it through, unscathed and untouched.
When I think about what happened that day in Alabama, I am reminded that sometimes you gotta just keep going to get to where you need to go. My fear, the unknown possibilities, and my life were all right in front of me the whole time. I just had to get through that storm.
Let the tires grip the road, remember to breath and get through that storm. 10 years later, looking back on it, I think that storm baptised my life figuratively and literally. I finished my degree. I have gotten to do things I have always wanted to do like work in a lab and buy a house. I have amazing friends that I appreciate. Life is good.
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