Every night our team meets together and discusses what went well and what didn’t that day, so in the same spirit I’ve decided to share my personal highs and lows of this trip.
What’s been good:
- I’ve always wanted to be a nickname sort of person, but nothing usually sticks. On this trip my team calls me Olive. It’s a name people haven’t referred to me as since I was in elementary school, and I love that it’s made a comeback. Brad usually calls me Liv, and I used to feel like the sound of “Liv” didn’t fit me, but the name’s really growing on me. Actually to give some credit, our mutual friend from school, Tommy, is the one that made me feel at home with the name “Liv”.
- I love sending postcards to friends back home. It makes me feel like the venturesome traveler I only daydreamed about being.
- Up until high school my favorite color was undoubtedly blue— all shades of it. A few years ago I came to really appreciate a sort of golden yellow. This color encapsulates how I feel when I’m in a state of being content, warm, and peaceful inside. These four weeks have only reaffirmed my fondness for this color. We’ve biked through deserts, mountains, cities, and all types of terrain. Without failure I always seem to spot a bushel of small wildflowers that are golden yellow, and so I’ve come to also associate golden yellow with resiliency and adaptability.
- I’m not stressed. All we do on the road is bike, teach kids, and laugh together. Oh and I'm drinking more water every day than I ever have. It’s an amazing way to live.
- I’m absolutely terrible with lyrics, but cycling for hours at a time with my playlists inevitably repeating themselves, has gotten me to a point where I can probably sing at least one line correctly in a given song. I also get to belt as loudly as I want without anyone hearing me, and that’s probably the closest thing I’ve felt to true freedom.
- I’m beginning to be sold on the idea of wearing a helmet at Stanford. Anyone older than 21 is probably sighing that this resolution has taken me this long, but teenagers are vain. I’m recognizing I’m not too cool to save myself from a concussion. Safety is sexy.
- My parents can tell you that I’ve been begging for a dog probably since I was three years old. One Christmas as a compromise, my mom bought me a sizable book on all the known dog breeds, and this was when I gave up on the fantasy that I might convince them to get a fluffy companion. This trip and all our kind hosts’ pets, however, have showered me with enough love to make up for 18 years of deprivation.
- I’m picking up some practical life skills. Packing just a small suitcase and a backpack for two and a half months shows you what’s actually necessary, and how little you can live on. I’m also becoming a more practical cook. I’ve always loved being in the kitchen but never branched out from following a recipe. This trip is forcing me to practice some improvised cooking which will hopefully serve me well in adulthood when I’ll have to whip something together from leftovers in the fridge and a few spices.
- I get an immense sense of accomplishment every time I climb a grueling hill. The sensation is very tangible in a way that pride usually isn’t for me. The downhill that follows, if I’m lucky, is an overwhelmingly rewarding gift. On these stretches I think about how there is probably not a time in any foreseeable future when I’ll have the luxury to take on an endeavor like this. This summer is this unique opportunity for me to indulge, be selfish, and see the country I’ve lived in for most of my life, before I get inundated with life’s responsibilities.
What’s been not so good:
- For a few weeks now I’ve had a very sharp pain at the top of my spine. When the pain is dull, it feels like I have a bruise on my vertebrae. Other times it sends a shooting pang along my nerves that is quite uncomfortable. The cause is probably from straining my upper body in a fixed position for long periods of time. As my muscles get fatigued, my body compensates, and maybe the fluid from swelling is hitting a nerve. I just ride through the pain, but if any physicians are reading this, I’d really appreciate a diagnosis paired with a magical cure.
- Though T-Mobile, along with every phone carrier in America, advertises on having the nation’s #1 coverage, I’ve had very spotty or no service at all in the places I travel to. This isn’t too much of an issue except when you have worried parents waiting back home for the bare minimum “I’m alive” text. Apologies in advance.
- I grew up in a family where you have to eat and finish what’s served to you. It’s made me one of the most non-picky eaters I know, and a lover of all foods and cuisines. The team has 3 vegans (Brad and Vivian are 2 recent converts), 1 vegetarian, and 3 meat-eaters. I’m aware of how much humans are contributing to environmental degradation, I see the effects of global warming as I bike in the scorching heat, and I know I could easily be vegan if I wanted to. And yet, I don’t think I’ll want to give up the simple joy of an unrestricted diet or the convenience of food that isn’t sourced sustainably. Selfish, I know.
- I think most people hear that you’re biking across the country, and an instinctual response is to say that the trip will be life-changing. I’m scared that I’m not growing that much. All my answers to life’s big questions haven’t seemed to change in noticeable ways in the past couple of years. Or maybe it’s that I can’t escape asking the same questions, and I haven’t pushed myself to think differently.
- I’m entering areas of America that have a widely different demographic from the Bay Area. It’s a strange sensation to enter a supermarket and be the only person, as far as I can see or tell, that’s not white. It’s a little sad that I can only hope for maybe one Asian restaurant in any given town, and I feel a bit out of place.
- By week 4 I thought I’d be in the best shape of my life: rock-hard abs, toned biceps, beautifully carved calves. In reality my body looks pretty much exactly the same besides a few faint tan lines. Maybe I’m even a little off my prime.
- Usually my mental energy gives out before my physical. There will be about 5 miles left or I’ll see a looming steep hill ahead, and my mind starts to complain. Before I know it’s hit me, my legs stop working, and I’m moving at 8 miles an hour. Sorry to my team for slowing us down on these days.
- When we’re lucky enough to stay in people’s homes, a question that invariably comes up at the dinner table is, “So what are you guys going to major in?”. It’s not that I am completely lost in what I’d like to pursue, but hearing my teammates answer this question with so much passion and curiosity makes me doubt my own resolve. I like what I’m studying, but I haven’t been struck with this self-assuredness of “I can see myself doing this 15 years down the line, and I know how I want to apply these tools and what I want to accomplish”. I more have been taking it one step at a time, seeing where and what I naturally gravitate towards. I’m not opposed to this approach, but it does make it difficult to plan out even the next three months whereas some of my teammates have been thinking about their four-year plans, meticulously planning out what classes they’ll take or what internships they want to do next summer. Others have grand ideas and are brainstorming an arsenal of exciting projects they want to tackle in the near future. I feel a little without direction, and as though my lack of intention means I’m just going through the motions.
Love, Olivia