For the Stars and Stripes

As the sun goes down, I stare at it. Watching the beautiful colors it gives off to me. Thinking to myself just completely in my head. What happens now? What should I do? Is this fate doing its work or am I just being a bit naive? Somehow Tennessee has its hold on me... Two Weeks Earlier I love waking up to the fresh morning air and the sun beaming on me. I love being in a new place and meeting new people. Traveling is my dream and I am so thankful I get to do it everyday now. I sit myself up from my bed and look for Tobias. I shake his treat bag that's under my nightstand and he hops from somewhere and comes straight to me. "Good morning handsome!" I say in my groggy morning voice. Him giving me all the good cuddles a cat should give. After a few minutes I manage to get out of bed while Tobias stays and lies down in my leftover warmth. I head to his food bowl and fix it up with his food and water. He comes darting off the bed and goes straight to his food. "If no one knew you, they would think I don't feed you!" I laughed a bit. I turn on my Keurig and pop my favorite coffee pod in. Placing my favorite mug underneath the dispenser. I got the mug as a gift from my parents before heading out on my traveling journey. It's got sticker licence plates of all the states and on the front it says "Embrace New Journeys". It was perfect for me haha because that's what I always wanted to do and planned to do it. Nothing was stopping me now. I went into my tiny bathroom and looked in the mirror. Still the same long black wavy hair and freckled face with blue eyes staring back at me. I guess some would call me naturally pretty. But I just see me. I don't see anything special or anything that makes me stand out. My tattoo on my left collar bone is of mountains but that's about as unique as I get. My slim frame stands at 5'2, I've been this height since the start of high school. I turn the shower on and get cleaned up for the day. I come out of the bathroom in a towel and grab my coffee. Thankfully it cooled down enough during my shower. I plop myself on my bed and reach for my laptop. Set my coffee down on my nightstand. Start checking emails and notice one from my friend Tayla. Skimming through the email she wants me to come check out Nashville. She's going to be there for a few weeks and wants me to come visit while she's there. I instantly look it up and check out all the fun stuff you can do. New place, new people? Yeah that sounds like a good idea to me!! I sent an email back saying I'm on board with it. As I wait for a response I finish up some projects for work and start new ones. Send emails and check my socials. Then finally after a few hours, I get the confirmation email. It reads, "OMG! I can't believe you're coming! I'm so excited. I have a boyfriend now and he's in Tennessee but he's not too far from Nashville. A few of his friends are joining us. But it's okay, I airbnb'd us all a place close to the city. Bonus, it has a pool.... Extra bonus..... A HOT TUB! How freaking cool is that Hannah?! I'll be in Nashville Sunday morning and the guys will be there Sunday evening. Let me know your estimated time of arrival. Can't wait to see you and hear about your adventures so far and to see little man Tobias! oh and before I forget, the guys names are Alex (my bf), James, and Rylan." This is going to be fun! I haven't stayed in an actual house since New Year's which was almost 6 months ago. It's just been me, Tobias, and our van. The van I found online for a great price, dad and I went to look at it and we ended up taking it home. We spent long nights and weekends to get him ready for the day I set out. Dad got a little emotional when we finished. Because he knew it meant I was one step closer to leaving. I always call them when I have a free moment. I should call them now and tell them about my next destination! I'm sure they will be excited! I pick up my phone still lying in bed and ring up mom. She answers after the first two rings. "Hey sweetheart! How are you?!" she says excitedly "I'm doing great mom! I got some exciting stuff to tell you!! Is Dad around?" she pauses for a second and says, "He's actually lying down right now, he hasn't been feeling well." Dad's lying down? Dad doesn't ever lie down when he's sick, so this must be a bad one. "Oh alright, don't wake him. He needs his rest to feel better." Sad a little, I continued talking to my mom. Telling her about all the stuff I have done since we spoke last. Then I finally told her about Nashville and she got excited with me. She went in her early 20s and said she had a blast. She asked if I had started talking to anyone romantically and I almost threw up. Her and I talked for probably two hours and by that time my stomach was grumbling because it needed lunch and so did she. We said our goodbyes and hung up. The first month after being out on my own I would hang up the phone and instantly cry. Sometimes wondering if I should be doing this at all. Missing home and missing out on everything there. It was hard but I loved it so much. I finally got back to Tayla and let her know I'd be there around noon. I then decided to get up and make myself some food and let the day begin. I have a long day ahead of me if I'm going to make it on time. I have to beat the guys there. Because I'm calling dibs for the best room. Of course leaving the biggest bed for Tayla and her boyfriend. I can't contain how excited I am. This is going to be so memorable. Definitely need to make sure my camera is ready and new batteries are in it. So I can non-stop take pictures. Watch out Tennessee, because here I come!!