Angela White: Personal Choice 4: Manifest Destiny

Since I was a child, I have dreamed about going to California. For me, the entire state represented freedom and destiny to me. Therefore, I refer to my future as "Manifest Destiny". My entire life, the only constant that I have seen in the future that I want to have, is the fact that I want to live in Southern California. My parents always assumed that it was a phase, and that it would pass as I grew older. The determination, however remains. I do not want to fly to California; I want to drive there. To me, this is a sort of personal pilgrimage. Because I have dreaming of going there for so long, it has become sort of a Holy Place to me. Though it may not be related to religion at all, it is a place that I hold close to my heart. Sometimes when I get bored and/or stressed I work on planning an itinerary that maps my trip starting at my house, and ending at various locations in California, such as apartment complexes that I have researched, or just any place that interests me. My planning of this trip has gotten to an extent where it is somewhat creepy. I have even mapped out hotels in which I can stay, and gas stations where I can fill up my tank. I have been planning this trip for so long, that it has become something that I absolutely have to do. The idea of this trip that I plan on taking has become a part of me, and everyday I become more and more excited for it to play out in real life, instead of merely in my dreams.