Despite

My last day off before the trip. Plan is to run the last of my errands and bring the car to my Dad's so he can give it a quick once over. Then 4 days of work and I leave Sunday morning.

So I get a call from my Dad and his schedule means I have to take the car to him first, then I'll run my errands. No problem. So I hop in the car, put my ipod in it's cool new holder I got, turn on the GPS, and drive down.

Pull into the driveway, and as soon as I do, the car starts making a funny noise. Before I even get out of the car I can see on my Dad's face that he hears it too. It literally started the moment I pulled into the drive way.

We pop the hood and look around. It's the distributor. Definitely need a new one. 4 days before the trip and I need to pay up to 400$ to replace my distributor.

Needless to say, I am pissed. I had just pulled A LOT of strings to free up 400$ to make this trip a little more comfortable, and poof, it vanishes. 4 days before the god damned trip.

I AM STILL GOING. This here, this is an open invitation to God, the universe, karma, whatever there is out there. Bring it on. I am going. It's all just going to make it that much sweeter when I'm there, to know that I'm there despite it all. Amidst the doubts of everyone around me, the fears and insecurities in my own head, and the misfortune of the world, I will stand at my destination.

That being said, as the initial anger of it all fades, I'm realizing I'm pretty lucky. I'm lucky it happened now and not on the road, especially in the states. I'm lucky my Dad has a mechanic friend who owns his own shop less than a mile from where it happened and that he said he'd do everything he could to keep the cost as low as possible. I'm lucky it happened with my Dad there, cause I don't know crap about cars and would have been lost without him. 4 days before the trip is actually a blessing instead of 4 days INTO the trip.

Also, my family has really pulled through for me. After expressing their concerns at first, they are now being very supportive. Many family members have chipped in 100$ each which really helps, my mom has even mentioned she might pay for the repairs for the car if I can pay her back after the trip, which is amazingly cool of her. And I think she's started to see my philosophy behind this trip, and it inspired her a bit, cause now we're planning a roadtrip with my brother. Just my mom and the 2 of us. I think that will be awesome as my family hasn't vacationed together since I was 11, plus I'll get to see even more of our continent.

I am still going. The point of this trip was to define myself. To see what I'm made of. I am not backing down.