A road trip is more than traveling from point A to B. Like everything around us it can be just that, simply a route to travel to reach somewhere, but sometimes, it can encompass the entirety of American mythology regarding road trips within it and be so much more. It ceases to be a route to get somewhere and takes the form of an adventure, one that takes you on uncharted water and exposes you to unexpected things. There is nothing quite like having the late afternoon sun kissing your face, the wind dancing through your hair and the great expanse of a road in front of you, waiting for you to envelope it. It is the epitome of ways to find yourself at this time in your life, to drive away in your car, alone or with a few friends, and let your mind think and dream in ways you didn’t know were possible. Regardless of the reasons, it will bring you the clarity you so desperately need. Better yet, it will bring you much more.
We’re all constantly running from something in our life, despite knowing full well that running is not the answer. But we do it because the urge to fight or flight is built into the very threads of our DNA itself. There can be dignity in running too. Instead of hurtling away from something at breakneck speed, we can choose the path of journeying. The destination and arrival doesn't matter. But just the process of deciding to set yourself on a journey is where dignity comes in. We gain the freedom and air to finally set our thoughts free to make sense of themselves and we do it without running like we’re scared. Road trips therefore are where the metaphorical meets the physical, the best of both worlds. They should be taken for the journey’s sake itself, rather than aiming for a destination. What better way to convince one’s self of that than through words and the stories of incredible, inspirational journeys.
Many hail Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” as what made them artists; to wake up one day in a life you cannot recognize, dreams that have been gathering dust for years and give it all up to just get on the road. That is what the protagonist of this classic book inspired thousands of people to do, showing them that the road can be just as romantic as you want it to be. You have to get up and go searching for it because languidly waiting for it to come to you will never happen. The story here will make you yearn for America and all of its land and it’ll call to you like a siren. If you’re consumed by even a smidgen of the fever Kerouac was consumed with, you’ll set off to find the glory within yourself and the land around you that awaits you on the road.
“Wild” is still riding the Oscar buzz surrounding it—brilliant movie as it was—but perhaps many do not know that it was based on a fascinating book by Cheryl Strayed. The only thing better than journeys that take you places within yourself as well as places outside, is a spontaneous journey of such nature. The protagonist of this book departs on a journey after watching her life fall apart around her, and knowing she cannot stop it from happening. What she can do is let her blind will drive her to places unknown in hopes that every scratch and fall would soothe another broken piece inside of her. She runs, but she does it with dignity. That is what allows her to not only save her sanity but also to return when she is ready.
What lengths will you go to to live? Surviving is easy. We can all survive. We can be stripped down to the barest version of ourselves, nothing but bone in sight, and still survive. Human beings are remarkably, sometimes annoyingly, resilient like that. But living? That’s where it gets a little tricky. Living is hard. It requires effort and grit. It demands us to kick, scream and fight to live; to drag our heels until they are raw and bloody just to know we want to live. Chuck Klosterman’s “Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story” is one such autobiographical tale of bloodied heels. Witness his internal struggles as he visits the dying sites of rock legends that died searching for reasons to live themselves.
Nothing good in life ever comes easy. If we accept that little fact as an absolute truth, we will be better off in recognizing and holding on to the worthwhile things. Journeys are not easy; not the physical ones to places far off and not the internal ones to places undiscovered. But they need to be embarked upon, both of them, for a million reasons that the stories mentioned here briefly touch upon. So find a road, and start driving.
