Personal Narrative: My Road Trip To Phoenix, Arizona

My trip to the Grand Canyon was the best experience I ever had so far in my life. My grandparents from Korea came along with us. Even though I saw them last year it was still an enjoyable moment that I had. Grand Canyon is located in Arizona so what our family did was fly to Las Vegas early in the morning and arrive in Nevada around 9 o’clock am. Driving to Grand Canyon was also five hours with heavy traffic. Driving and stopping every hour was hard to do but at the end it was all worth it. It was good that I had couple electronic devices and my family to keep me in company.

When I first came to Arizona on 1/1 which is same as the start of 2015 I realized that this place is gonna be extremely hot in summer.

In 1978, when I was 14, my family moved from Phoenix, AZ to Cerritos, CA; a small city in the heart of the greater Los Angeles area. Phoenix was mainly White, Barry Goldwater conservatives trying their best to hold onto 1950’s Americana, but Los Angeles in the late 1970s was different; it was alive, vibrating to frequencies of the differing cultures that called the L.A. basin home. Looking back it still fills me with excitement, but truth be told I was scared to death. When I first arrived I had no friends, no experience to prepare me for the full on culture shock I found myself facing, nor any thought of how special that area would be to me. No other place than Southern California could have provided a better backdrop to develop the foundation

Scottsdale is where I grew up. It’s where I dressed up and had tea parties with my little brothers. It’s where Hannah Montana taught me how to sing and where Troy Bolton gave me unrealistic expectations of how boys would act in high school. It’s where my two best friends and I decided that we were all going to go to the same college and then we would move into houses that were right next door to each other. We were going to be best friends until the day we die. It’s where I spent the summers swimming and constantly looking like a lobster. Scottsdale is where I fell in love reading thanks to Harry Potter, Tris Prior, and America Singer. It’s where Deal Night was the only thing on my mind and I could not wait to stay up until 3am playing Wii bowling with my whole family. It’s where I learned how to bake with my mom and my brothers. It’s where the sun shines all the time which lead me to get a third degree sunburn while on a Boy Scout camping trip. It’s where I became claustrophobic because of long division at Catalina Island. It’s where my room was covered from floor to ceiling in One Direction posters and where I danced all night to the best song ever.

Ever since I found out my softball team could make it to California for Nationals I knew this would be our goal for the summer. Now here is where the challenging part came in, we only had three chances to make it to California. We made it, we were lucky enough to make our goal in the third chance.

My story began on September 12, 2000, in Phoenix, Arizona. I was born to my mother, a faithful member of the gospel, and my father, an alcoholic. These two traits did not function well together and they ended up getting a divorce in 2001. This would start a new chapter that took my mother, three sisters and I to Elko, Nevada. Nearby was the reservation of my Native American (NA) tribe, the Western Shoshone. My NA heritage came from my father, so when he left my life, he took the culture with him. My grandmother did all she could to include me in the tribe by making me traditional NA items such as moccasins and shawls.

When people would talk about deja vu all i could say was lies. I didn't really think that was true and it was something that couldn't happen. Until it actually happened and i was in total shock. When i used to hear people talk about all I could say that was crazy that it was just your mind. I could exactly remember everything that has happened and until now i am in total shock about it.

During summer break in august I went there with my grandma.some people might get a plane vasue the trip is so long but for us we drove down.It took us 3 to 4 days to finally get to where we needed to be going.It takes along time to get there only cause from driving so long you will need to rest so we went to a hotel every night and then we got something to eat for breakfast and dinner.

My family has a background of going to Texas at least once every year. The year that I went it was going to be mother's day, and both my mom & dad wanted to go and see their families down there in Texas. My mom and dad told me that we were going to go I was excited i’d get to see my family again, and spend time with them. It’s always fun when we go to visit everyone just having a good time. When they told my sister she wasn't that excited she knew that she’s have to leave her girlfriend, but she ended up warming up to the idea because she knew my mom and dad hadn't seen their families in a while and they never really get to see them that often.

My family and I went to Colorado Spring for christmas break. We packed up all of our stuff then we put it all in the car. When we got done putting all of our stuff in the car we left we got on the highway. As soon as we got on the highway I took a nap. I woke up when we were in Colorado we were almost there. I was talking to my parents until we stop to get gas. I sat in the car until my dad got done filling the car up. We drove for a little bit and we were in Colorado Springs. We drove to my Aunt's house when we got there I took my stuff in the room I stay in. My cousin came from downstairs and said “Hi ” then he went back downstairs. My aunt put on a movie to all watch together. My grandma was cooking something for all of to eat when the movies was over I went to the kitchen to eat. I went to the kitchen table to talk to my dad. When my dad got done eating We heard a knock on the door we answered it and it was on of my uncles and aunts then my cousins walked in.

Waking up at midnight on a cloudy monday night, I walked outside and looked at the moon. Look at how far I have come. Living in hillbilly hick Iowa, to traveling all over the world. Listening to my mother has been one of the greatest things I have ever done. Without her I would have stayed in Iowa and probably married a ugly overweight farmer. Graduating from highschool I decided that I was going to go straight to college and get my masters in Biological Anthropology. Since I already had 20 credits completed at Iowa Central, I decided to stay for one more year. The money I would save would go into my traveling “fund”. Planning on living with my mother still, to me was not a bad decision. She fed me, clothed me, and loved me even though I can

Have you ever had an enriching moment that opened your mind to the possibilities in the world? Well I have, when my family and I went to Las Vegas, Nevada. Yes, Vegas is a little odd to have a life-changing experience, but we didn’t follow the normal Vegas path. This involvement taught me to not to act anxious rather to take risks in life, and if I work hard for what I want things will work out.

In the morning, there are hugs and tears and promises to keep in touch. All I can reason is another fifteen year gap can’t happen. Luckily, Doris lightens the mood. She suggests we meet in Santa Barbara when the seasons change - next time in the fall, then winter, and in spring and summer again.

Road trip! Mom gave me a great assignment, I heading to Miami U and a trippy trip with Lil promises be fun if the rain gods behave. Lil drives a convertible. Lil’s mermaid gig doesn’t pay the bills, the Mustang comes as a perk for working as a stripper and having a beautiful body. In the Land of Lap Dances, she’s known as, The Beaut.

I had a great summer vacation during the summer of 2008. My family and I went on a road trip starting from Las Vegas to Arizona. During that road trip I learned how to play another instrument, it was not easy, but it was a very special and memorable moment. It was a long drive and we have been listening to the radio which was playing the same song over and over again. So, my brother came up with an Idea and said to my parents “turn the radio off” while he pulled out a ukulele, which, to me looked like a mini guitar with less strings. He then told me “I am going to teach you how to play this by the end of the day!” I was nervous because the only instrument I knew how to play at the time was the piano, and that had no strings.