The 8 Stops on the Road Trip I’m Taking Instead of Going to College this Semester
Comedy Lists College
Saturday 8/27/16:
Hey hey hey party peeeeople! First off, thank you so SO much for checking out my newest blog. Now, I know you might be wondering, “why the new digs!?”, and I know that I’ve been pretty cryptic this summer over on my YouTube channel (lol sorry, not sorry); I’m totally and completely honored that the twitter-verse has be buzzing about what you’re main man is going to be doing with his life this fall. Well, worry no longer my dudes, and congrats for being the first people to hear directly from the source:
I’m NOT going back to school this year!
As you know, I turned 19 last month (thanks for the #BirthdayWishes btws) and since then I’ve spent a lot of time thinking. A bunch of soul searching got done during my time working at Sonic and I realized that I don’t really need school right now in my life. I haven’t been carpeing the diem guys, and for that, I’m sorry. A lot of things have gotten in the way of living my best life, and that’s going to change.
So now, I know what I gotta do: I’m going to take the semester off and go on an EPIC road trip across America. No school, no parents, no plans, and no rules. Just me, getting in touch with the Real America. I’m not sure how long this journey might take me. It’ll be at least a couple of months (maybe a couple of years, lol), but hopefully I’ll be able to get back here at least in time for Christmas. Who knows? Maybe the road life will be so great that I never come back, lol!
Make sure to check back regularly right here on this blog for (hopefully) regular updates on how my grand, epic adventure is going and where fate is going to take me next! Wooo! Wish me luck!
#SoulSearch2k16 #EmotionalJourney #SurpriseBitches #NewBlog #Travelouge #Writing #Adventure
1. Monday 8/29/16 Portland, Oregon
Alright guys, get ready for some craziness! The party starts now! Suitcase all packed up, full tank of gas, plenty of jerky; this show is getting on the road.
The first leg of the trip is a real ball buster: Peoria, Illinois to Portland, Oregon. Look, I know, a 30 hour drive is going to be ROUGH, but my parent’s station wagon is sturdy and I have three cans of Monster, so I’m optimistic that I can just slam through it. I will DEFO be crashing in the hostel as soon as I get there, lol.
Thanks again for all the suggestions of cool stuff to see and do in Portland, btws. The place has just got such a good vibe; I’m SO pumped to be joining my people out there.
West Coast Best Coast, amiright!
Ok, gonna sign off, wish me luck!
#SoulSearch2k16 #EmotionalJourney #SooooPUMPED #OnTheRoadAgain #WishMeLuck
2. Monday 8/29/16 Portland, Illinois
Ok, quick update: end of day one, and honestly, it was a bit rocky.
So it turns out that there is a Portland ILLINOIS and Google sent me THERE instead of Portland OREGON. Yeeeeah, Portland, Illinois is not as open and accepting as the Oregon version. That’s ok, it was an hour and a half drive from Peoria, is not that big a sidetrack. We shall overcome! Mistakes and detours and seeing the local flavor is what this adventure is all about!
I am, however, pretty drained from the combination of driving all this way and the emotional toll this mistake has had on me, so I decided to set up camp here for the night, at the Holiday Inn Portland. No sense in driving when you’re so zapped amitright?
#SoulSearch2k16 #EmotionalJourney #RoomService #Recharge #GoogleMaps
“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.” —Ralph Marston
3. Tuesday 8/30/16 Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Wow, this is what I’m talking about. This is the life! I wish you all could be here with me; Iowa is such a beautiful place. It’s not ANYTHING like Peoria. Just beautiful landscape as far as the eye can see. It really evokes the poets of yore; I really get what Laura Ingles Wilder was talking about you guys. Trust me, if you ever get a chance to come out here, definitely check out Iowa. Just cruising along, listening some awesome local radio (shout out to 103.4 WKXT, lol) and just taking in nature. This is what I was missing being locked up in the ivory tower of a state school; yah can’t read about this in yah text books!
Gonna wrap it up here at an adorable diner called Miriam’s Place (a total greasy spoon, for those in tune with that old people lingo #retro) and then get back out there!
#SoulSearch2k16 #EmotionalJourney #Beauty #Nature #GoodEats #LittleHouse #OnThePrairie
4. Tuesday 8/30/16 Davenport, Iowa
Alright, so update on the whole farm-thing. Turns out, beyond all the fields I was looking at earlier today… are just more fields. And like, Laura Ingles Wilder definitely changed the way I look at history (shout out to Mrs. Bramsfield’s 3rd period English class! Yeah, you know who you are!), but I have to admit that this is getting kinda boring. Like, I get it. You’re grass. And trees. And grass again. Let’s switch up, ya know! Hopefully, I’ll be getting into new territory the closer I get to Nebraska; I’m really over this whole “plains” thing. Like, what’s so great about them, amiright?
Regardless, I’m going to be posting up for the night pretty soon here. I know, I know, I said I was going to blast right through to Oregon, but that chili I ate at lunch today kinda didn’t sit too well on my stomach (tmi, lol). Plus, turns out, I got a little turned around again (Thanks, Google Maps) and I wound up driving a little out of my way, a little farther back east than I planned to, so I’m going to spend the night at the Marriott, Davenport City Center, rest up, regain my strength, and hit it hard tomorrow. Portland, I’m coming for yooouuu!
P.s. I want to go on record saying that I do not agree with or condone the hate speech said on 103.4 WKXT. At the time of my previous post, they were exclusively playing classic rock, not broadcasting the “Mitch and Spleen Un-PC Power Hour” program. I am deeply sorry if I have directly or indirectly lead to anyone being offended.
#SoulSearch2k16 #EmotionalJourney #TMI #GrassOnGrassOnGrass #OverIt #GoogleMaps #DavenPLORP #AmIRight #LoveNotHate #ImSoSorry
5. Wednesday 8/31/16 Des Moines, Iowa
Alright guys, um, confession time.
Like, I know that you all love me for my raw, uncensored take on stuff (team valor for the win, never back down). I can’t lie to you. I love you too much to do it. So, in the spirit of honesty, I’m going to come clean. Uh, this trip has been preeetty rough on me. I know when I started I was really pumped about the whole thing, but I did some soul searching while driving today and I came to appreciate some things about myself. You know me and you know how much I hate to quit things, but sometimes it’s more important to make a strategic retreat than it is to push forward and just hurt yourself more. At this point, I’ve spent all of the money I made during my time at Sonic, and more importantly, I’ve spent all of the emotional energy I feel safe to spend on this endeavor.
So, with a heavy heart and eyes full of tears, I’m officially going to have to call a close to this road trip. Thanks for all of your support on Twitter and Instagram; you’re positive messages have really helped me get through these trying times. I’ll post a video on my YouTube channel with more information when I get back to some quality Wi-Fi.
#SoulSearch2k16 #EmotionalJourney #Sad #Determined #Undaunted #LookingTowardsTheFuture #StomachStuffStillAnIssue #CurseYouMiriam
“Sometimes you have to kind of die inside in order to rise from your own ashes and believe in yourself and love yourself to become a new person.” ? Gerard Way
6. Wednesday 8/31/16 Oskaloosa, Iowa
OSKALOOSA, IOWA, I AM IN YOOUUUU! Haha, syyyyke guys! Yeah, I was headed back to the homestead, and was like, “no! I’m not going to let the haters win!” You guys on Tumblr were so SO right (not going to embarrass anybody by naming names, but you know who you are, lol). Instead of giving in, I pulled off to the nearest rest stop and just typed “coolest place to go near me” into the Googles, and after spending like 20 or 30 minutes or whatever doing some research, I decided to come up here to Oskaloosa to end this rollercoaster of a day.
I’m not going to let a minor setback get in the way, I’m not going to be deterred, I am strong, and I can do this! I just checked in here at the Oskaloosa-area Red Roof Inn (mom, if you’re reading this, YES it was an “emergency credit card” situation, lol), gonna scope out the night life here, live it up a little, and be on my way early tomorrow. This time I promise #SoulSearch2k16 #EmotionalJourney #ALanisterAlwaysKeepsHisPromises #lol #NightLyfe #GoingClubbing #BackOnTrack
7. Thursday 9/1/16 Portland, Illinois
Sorry for the late post you guys, I try to get these as early in the day, but other things got in the way. Uh, mainly my mom. So apparently, my text I sent them didn’t wind up ACTUALLY sending when I left on Monday (mad props to Verizon and their crappy service, lol), and they thought I was with Todd (@ToddMinsterAbby follow him, he’s great) all day Tuesday, but like, started worrying about me yesterday. So THEN, I was out of cell reception all day yesterday (#GetWithTheProgramIowa) and so they couldn’t get a hold of me. #FML. So when they saw the credit card charge at the hotel this morning, they called the hotel and finally got a hold of me.
Good news: I’m safe.
Bad news: I’m grounded.
Totally weak, right? Like, I’m trying to find myself and then my parents go nuclear and suddenly I’m in trouble? I mean, hello, I am an adult Ugh. I know. #TheWorst. But like, it is their station wagon and the only money have is their credit card, and now I’m like, back on their leash. Plus, my mom said if I don’t come back they’ll sick the cops on me or whatever, and that’s a headache I do NOT want to deal with. So, that’s why I’m back in scenic, scenic Portland… Illinois. Gonna grab lunch real fast and head back home. Will post a video about the trip when I get home, I promise.
#SoulSearch2k16 #EmotionalJourney #LameParents #Grounded #Unjust #FightTheSystem #CopsArePigs
8. Wednesday 9/7/16 Peoria, Illinois
Hey guys, I know it’s been a little while since I last updated here, and I still owe you a video over on YouTube, I know, I know. It’s just that things have been RHURL hectic over on my side of things. Talked to the ‘rents for… many, many hours and we came to the mutual decision that it’s probably the best thing for my life right now is put a hold on my road trip to Portland and to go back to school for the time being. I don’t love it, trust me, but Mom isn’t, like, super wrong about college being good for me right now. I mean, it’s gonna be rough and I’m gonna be looking at you guys for some mondo emotional support in these next months, but I think it’s gonna prrrooobably be alright.
The one wrinkle in this new phase in my life is that they already closed registration at the college I was going to, so this semester I’m going to be staying at my parents house and attending Illinois Central College, a community college in East Peoria, this fall (#GoCougars) and going to be asking for my job back at Sonic while I’m here so that I can pay back my parents for the charges I made on their card while I was on my trip. So, wish me luck my little sun babies, things are looking up. Of course I’ll keep you all updated on what happens next, this is not the end for my road trip plans! Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and see you guys on Twitter@Mstrcpp! Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyeee!
#SoulSearch2k16 #EmotionalJourney #BackAtHome #LovinIt #Sonic #Writing #SoulSearch2k17 #SeeYouThen #TheEnd #OrIsIt?
Cameron Petti is a Chicago-land native. He’s currently attempting to survive off of freelance theatre work, and hasn’t had to eat too much cat food to achieve this goal. Check out how happy and full of life Cameron is on tumblr and twitter.