One Long Journey

Marissa was a very adventurous person. Always wanting to try something new and always faced any challenge that came her way. Many people always thought she was crazy for always doing these challenges, but it was one of the only things that made her happy. She doesn’t have any family around to support her in person, so she’s doing all of these tasks alone. Her parents live in New Mexico, so she never really sees them often, which actually makes it easier to do all these adventures, since no one will be holding her back. 

This time, Marissa will walk nearly 300 miles from Los Angeles, California to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. A whole trip by foot, to another state. This was nothing like she had ever done before, but she was very excited to take on the challenge. Marissa had to prepare on where to sleep, eat, go to the bathroom, and shower. But, some things don’t go as planned, so she just figured it out as she went. She knew she could make it, and she would not give up during the trip. 

Marissa left on March 10th, at around 10 A.M. She was off on a long journey she knew she would be able to finish. Many people who knew about her journey, were very supportive and cheered her on. Others did not have much faith in her and did not believe that she’d make it the whole way. But, she did not care about anyone's thoughts but her own. Marissa had a successful first day of walking. Not many distractions and she was able to sleep in a cheap motel for a night. This wouldn’t be this easy the whole way through since the farther you go, the less civilization there is and there’s not many cities along the way. She tried not to make too many stops throughout the day, so it wouldn’t slow her down, but some days the weather was warmer and she couldn’t help but try and stop in some shade if she could find any. She tried not to walk at a fast pace because that would get her legs more tired. But either way, she wasn’t trying to get there as fast as possible, but just trying to stay on track with her plan. After day 2 it was harder for her to find places to sleep and go to the bathroom, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. Walking so much everyday gave Marissa a lot of time to think about everything.

 She brought portable chargers for her phone just in case she needs her phone for an emergency. Marissa's parents usually give her a call everyday, so they can check in on eachother. But, she hadn’t received a call from them in 3 days. She just thought they were busy and went on with her other thoughts. The more tired she grew, the more she felt like giving up. Marissa is about 5 days into her journey, but it's only getting harder. The days feel so long, especially when the weather is warmer, which makes Marissa take more breaks. Her trip is taking longer than expected, but she was still pushing through to finish it. She was about 120 miles in, which should’ve been 150, but she slowed down. Marissa was growing tired and her legs were aching due to all the walking. This is the first time she thought about giving up, and getting a ride back home. But why would she want to show those people who didn’t believe in her, that they were right. She kept going, and got rid of the negative thoughts. 

Marissa reached the halfway point of 150 miles on day 6. She still hadn’t received a call from her parents, but did not put much thought into it. She got more rest after she reached the halfway point, which made her want to keep going even more now. Since Marissa had her phone with her, she’d document a bit of each day to let people know where she’d be after every night. She believed in herself even more to make it because she was getting anxious to get to her destination. 

That night, Marissa found a rest stop to sleep at. She actually slept good there, unlike the other few places she tried to sleep at before this. She was getting her stuff ready to get back on the road to walk. Marissa finally got a call from her parents as she saw the name “Dad” light up on her phone screen. She picked up before leaving again to another day of walking. 

“Your mother is in the hospital in critical condition, we need you to come down here quickly.” 

Marissa's happy smile from getting a call from her parents turned into a big frown after hearing those words. The conversation went on for another minute, but Marissa was full of emotion. Terrible sadness because of her mom. Disappointment because her journey was ruined. Confusion on why these unfortunate events had to happen. She had to stop her journey and find the closest airport to get on the next plane to New Mexico. Almost 200 miles into the journey. Someone from the rest stop offered her a ride to the airport, and she accepted due to the lack of time. When Marissa arrived at the airport, she quickly tried getting the quickest flight to New Mexico and succeeded. The only thing that seemed to be going okay at this point. She soon got on the plane, and was on her way to see her parents. Marissa doesn’t know why her mom is in the hospital and was only told to come quick. A lot was going through her mind. 

The plane landed, and Marissa notified her dad that she was there in New Mexico. She got picked up and taken to the hospital to the room where her mom was. She immediately went to hug her mom, although she was surrounded by all sorts of medical equipment. Her mom seemed so weak as medical workers were trying to help her as much as they could. Marissa's mom had experienced cardiac arrest not long before Marissa got the call from her dad. Her mom did not have a very large chance of living. Marissa was heart broken. Her long adventure took a large turn in the wrong direction. Marissa was sure that she’d finish her 300 mile walk, but there were other plans waiting for her. 

Sadly, Marissa’s mom ended up passing away not long after Marissa arrived. Marissa stayed in New Mexico with her dad until her mom's funeral. This tragic event put many of Marissa’s plans on hold, as she greived for a long period of time. Marissa was never able to make it to Lake Havasu to finish her adventure. She took a plane back home and was too devastated to do anything when she got back. The things that used to make her happy were no longer valid, as they didn’t make her happy anymore. Marissa isolated herself from the outside world for a long while, grieving for her mom. She missed her terribly. Although she never saw her much, she wished she was able to visit her more often. Remember that not all things go as planned. Things certainly did not go as planned for Marissa.