So 2019 Started Like That

The past few years I've used Instagram as a creative platform to document and share my travels. I love the process of picking out that one fundamental photo that represents my entire experience, and pairing the photo with some sort of witty caption. I've been pretty good with not letting social media be a toxic environment to myself, but this year I wanted to focus on being much more intimate with describing the places I've been, the people I've met, and the unexpected happenings that will inevitably come upon me.

January 3rd, 2019
Erica flew in to Philadelphia from LAX. Her flight landed at 5am, and I didn't get much sleep because Ali had been sick since New Years day, and he wasn't feeling any better. I picked up Erica, we came back to my apartment, and then we knocked out for a few hours. I went to check in on Ali around noon, and told Erica I would be back in a few minutes. But we ended up at the emergency room and I left Erica alone for several hours. Erica and I have been there for each other for some of our lowest lows and greatest highs, and I'm so grateful for how patient she was, despite only being in Philly for a couple of days.

After Ali finally got admitted, I picked up Erica and we got some Dalessandro's cheesesteaks and Checker's fries. We did some shopping, I found a ski outfit for $12, picked up Ali from the hospital, stopped by H-mart to get food for our trip the next day, picked up Ali's medicine, dropped it back off at his place, then headed home.

But I still owed Erica a good time, so I put my dumbass emotional and exhausted feelings aside, and we went out to a dive bar! Yea, that definitely wasn't our scene. We left the bar and went to a sport's bar instead. On the way to Chickie's and Pete's, we had a really fun conversation with our lyft driver. His name was either Elvis or Sher, I don't remember, but he was from the DR, and Erica whipped out her Spanish skills with him. There wasn't any game on when we got to the bar, but it was honestly so nice having a friend who enjoys the same things that I do. I get really lonely in Philly not having anyone who enjoys the same outings as me, so seeing Erica once a year is very refreshing.

January 4th, 2019
Erica and I left Philly around 10am, got some Beiler's donuts, and headed for Jim Thorpe. Hiking with Erica is one of my favorite things ever because she knows what she's doing, and she doesn't complain!! The trail was really hard to read, and it involved a lot of crossing freezing, rushing water, climbings rocks, and second-guessing our directional decisions.





Ali called me during our hike, and he wasn't feeling too well, but he told me he was fine. I felt really anxious the rest of the day after that call because something felt really off...

But nonetheless, after the hike, Erica and I spontaneously decided to explore Jim Thorpe! The cute little town is filled with Trump supporters, but we found a sweet elderly lady who owned a toy shop, and she was hilariously liberal. We sampled some jerky, did a free wine tasting, and ate some ice cream. Then it was off to the slopes!

Blue Mountain Resort is GORGEOUS, and I wanted this to finally be the time where I can carve down the hill! Usually, I can suck it up and face my fears, but my anxiety was through the roof, and every time I fell, I started to feel scared for Ali.

On the drive back to Philly, Ali called me and told me he had been in the hospital all day. To be honest, I thought I finally made peace with my dad's death, but I didn't realize how triggering the hospital still was for me. I had to drop off Erica at my apartment, and then picked up Ali from the hospital. After I took him home, I took Erica to another sports bar!

January 5th 2019
I took Erica to visit Drexel's medical school, we visited the PMA, got ramen, then took her back to the airport. As crazy as those 3 days were, it's honestly what my life has become, and I wouldn't have it any other way.