~Nothing is harder than striving to stay alive.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Last day.

It took me forever to write this post. I just hate that I will not be able to blog anymore after this ride, or rather after this day. A lot of you had asked me about what am I gonna do with my blog after the ride ends, truth is, I have no idea. 72 days (well mine is 74 cause I included the first two days sitting in the train to NYC) of adventure, crazy yet fulfilling. "New York City" is probably one of the most-mentioned words. The looks and reactions we got from people when they heard us saying, "We started off in New York City" are totally unforgettable.

It amazed me so much to as how supportive people are towards Illini 4000. Donations we got from random strangers; food donation from restaurants like Subway, local pizza shops, Chipotle, and our hosts; free stays at churches. All those mean so much to us, and had definitely eased up our journey. I personally want to thank Blue Mountain Hospital in Oregon for helping me so much when I crashed. I'd have freaked out if they weren't that helpful or friendly.

This trip has definitely been an eye-opening experience. I remember the day in Redding, or  "Rockville of the West", as I would call, I had a conversation with this pastor. He said this ride is definitely better than internships because it encompasses qualities like pay attention, teamwork, up to challenges, optimistic mindset, etc. I especially agree with the up to challenges part. Well people who have known me for awhile will know how terrible I am with directions. The first day in the States I couldn't even find my way home. Duh. Everyday we go from city to city, it requires skills to pack things and not lose things; everyday we ride on a route that no one has ridden before, you'll never know what's gonna come up-strong headwind, gravel road, roads with no shoulder, 16% grade of downhill, forest fire; looking for stops with local food-huckleberry ice-cream, Idaho spuds, in-and-out, chocolate milkshake, Casey's pizza, random gas station's potato salad, etc; seeing beautiful places like Twin Falls, Veils something Falls, Niagara Falls, Crater lake, state parks. In only 2.5 months, I believe we have experienced things that normally take people a few months to experience.

I always say I am going to die young, because (if I have enough money) I really would do all of the coolest/dangerous activities. Seeing how people suffer from cancer, I appreciate my life so much more. I know I want to do so many things before I die. I want to travel to many places, connect with the locals, learn their languages, eat local food, immerse myself in their culture. I find it really hard to talk to people I don't know, it takes a lot of effort for me to start and keep a conversation. Seeing how I always "accidentally" collected portraits throughout the trip, I feel as if the God is dropping hint for me and gave me chances to start a conversation with people.

And as much as I feel that being a tiny Asian girl, coming from Malaysia (a country that not many people know of) give me more advantage to share my experience as a Malaysian. I am proud of my country because everyone can speak at least two languages/dialects fluently, and understand many more other languages. I don't remember who asked me this question-"How do you feel being around with 20ish Americans?" Honestly, I really enjoyed having these wondeful people around me. It makes me realize that despite having huge differences in culture, people are generally the same (bell curve lol). There will be people who'll be close with you, and there will be people who will not be as close with you, and that's normal. It's the same as me having some Malaysian friends as close friends, and some not as close. It's just the matter of time and "Chemistry" between me and the other person.

Would I do this ride again next year? I doubt so. I don't want to go to the same places again and not having my teammates with me to share the memories. Would I do another cross-country ride? Maybe, in another country.

Once again, thank you to my ride leader, Ben and my wonderful teammates for being nice and supportive all the time. Thanks to my parents, brother, and bf. Thank you all of the people who have supported me since my fundraising period, making my fundraising a huge success. Thank you to people who have supported me through your kind words-I'm not great, you are, without your support I can't go this far. Thank you to the people we have met throughout the journey for the place to sleep, nice showers, and for feeding us with superb meals. Thank you to everyone who is willing to share their stories with The Portraits Project.

From a nervous and excited start, to a beautiful and happy end, everything that has happened is gonna stay in my memory forever #I4everK