17 Days Later, How Exactly did I end up in California?

October 24, 2013

The official word from the Pro-Staff of the Facebook page!

I am glad to report that I officially made it to the NCCC Pacific Region Campus on Thursday, October 24th. The excitement I felt when I found out that the Government Shutdown had finally ended is indescribable. I was ecstatic, as I could finally go to start my new life in California! I immediately started the intense process of packing. I have never been more grateful that I had donated so many clothes at the beginning of the summer than during my packing process - and even so, I still had too many clothes to fit into my duffel bag! I suppose the biggest part of the struggle was the fact that I had to pack for all four seasons. Perhaps if I had any idea of the places I'd be going to on SPIKE then I could have more effectively packed, instead I had to decide what was "most important" to get me comfortably covered for all elements of weather. 45 pounds of clothing later, and I was ready to head to JFK airport in NY to leave for Cali.

But not before one last dinner with my best friend, Kourtney, and my parents. I cried.

Saying goodby to my parents and my brother was a very surreal experience. The furthest I've ever been from any of them was my week long vacation to Florida, where I was with 7 other females (3 of whom are my best friends). This is my first grown woman, traveling alone experience, but I really can't thank my brother enough for carrying my bag and helping me navigate the check in process.

Plane tickets and pictures from the trip to San Fran

I was surprised to see so many Ameri-People in the airport! We were rolling 12 people deep, but I was a little disappointed that I didn't meet anyone from Blue One (my team). I slept for most of the plane ride to San Francisco International Airport, but I did have the pleasure of sitting next to two very inspirational people who got to talking to each other. The man had a wife and children, and had fallen flat on his face twice so far. This is his third time rebuilding. During the housing crisis in the early 2000's, his mortgage company fell out. Then he started a contracting company, which fell out after Hurricane Sandy. Now? He's working for an solar energy company in San Francisco. This was his fourth time traveling to the city. He attributed most of his success to his family, as they are the reason he had to continually pick himself up and dust himself off after financial disaster. The power of will-power. The woman was from Britain and had blown through her loan ceiling. She couldn't get anymore loans for school and couldn't afford it. She had been in the United States, and had a very serious relationship prior to returning to London, where she slept on floors of friends and family for the past year. She has an 18 day VISA to spend her time with her significant other and try to pick herself up. Her positive attitude and realistic view of her situation made her story even more compelling. I hope the best works out for her and her significant other.

People come into your life for a reason; so while I got a lesson of the importance of self-improvement, drive, dedication, and perseverance, I was met with a pretty serious complication once landing in San Fran: our flight to Sacramento was cancelled.

The 12 of us were able to go on our first mission: Operation Get To NCCC.

Luckily, the airport was working with us and while some of us called the appropriate professional staff on campus, the rest of us found food, found the man in charge of operation get to Sacramento Airport (a side operation of get to NCCC), and find some common ground while learning about each other. We took our first ride in a 15 passenger van (but not our last) and went off to Sacramento Airport where we would meet up with our Americorps Representatives. I met Alex, from Connecticut who seemed like a pretty hilarious dude. And there was that man from TKE. Damian, from NY. Jake, the leader of Nerd Hall and a returner to NCCC. Sean, the 24 year old. NayNay from Brooklyn. And many other wonderful humans who I cannot remember the names of (this has been a travesty my entire life).

Arriving to the McClellan Airfore Base and NCCC Pacific Region headquarters filled me both with a sense of relief and anxiety. The next chapter in my life has officially started, now I've just got to fill the pages.