In July of 2014 I was accepted to finish my Bachelor's degree at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL. I had recently finished up classes for my Associate's degree at Cleary University in Howell, MI so my mom encouraged me to continue my education. I had always wanted to move to Florida and when I saw Eckerd it seemed like a perfect fit. They are right on the beach, have a pet-friendly campus (meaning Achilles could come with me), and they had a great psychology program. By the time I found out I was accepted for Fall I only had three weeks to pack up whatever would fit into my car and travel south.

The time flew by as I packed and piled up everything I could manage. On August 22, I started my journey. My jeep was packed tightly, with an extra storage bag on top and Achilles riding shot gun. It was very hard to say goodbye to my family, especially my mom. I will never forget our embrace and how we both teared up, but I was determined and I pulled myself together and drove out of my driveway for the last time. Yes, the very last time, because my mom was moving to a new house and the next time I came to visit I'd be going there instead of my childhood farmhouse. Obviously, it was all very emotional.

The drive was about 20-22 hours and I already had a hotel booked in Chattanooga, TN as that is where I calculated my half-way point. My biggest worries as I started the journey was avoiding the traffic in Cincinnati and Atlanta as these were the two largest cities I would be passing through. I have been on many road trips across the country with my family but I had never driven by myself for such a long distance and being a young woman I made sure I had my pepper spray ready at every food and gas pit stop.

My route was straight down I-75 from lower Michigan to the Gulf of Florida. This means I went through Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. Each state is a little bit different from scenery and road rules to the people and their accents. I learned a lot about myself and these areas of the country over the two day period and for anyone traveling this way I hope some of my insight can help you out.

For the Michigan portion of my drive I only had to drive about an hour and one half to the Ohio border. Michigan is known for it's terrible roads. This is not a myth. The harsh winters take a huge toll on our roads and even the highways can be rough. Luckily, the stretch to Ohio is pretty simple and there is a Cabela's about halfway through that journey, meaning I could stop and get some jerky. The speed limit is 70 mph, which means most people go around 80 mph and the cops don't usually care. I like to stay at a solid 75 mph. I easily zipped through this part of the trip and as I reached the sign that says "Welcome to Ohio", I quietly said goodbye to my home state.

Ohio is a whole other story. The second you enter this god forsaken farmland the speed limit changes to 65 mph, if you're from Michigan you should be driving 60 mph because they target your license plate constantly. The rivalry between University of Michigan and Ohio State is real people! I once got a ticket on the turnpike (speed limit there is 70 mph) for going 74 mph and was even told that if I would've been in a lane farther from the cop car I wouldn't have gotten pulled over. What I think he really meant is if my Jeep wasn't bright blue with a Michigan plate I wouldn't have been pulled over. So ridiculous.

Anyways, as I slowly creeped through Ohio I found that it is extremely boring. The people are pretty nice wherever you stop and it always feels very safe, but there is nothing to look at but corn and other crops. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy that people still farm their lands and I can appreciate the beauty of the countryside but when the skies are gray and that is all you're looking at for hours you kind of want to drive off the road. Luckily, I made it down to Cincinnati and only had minimal traffic (mostly due to construction) to get over the bridge to Kentucky.

As I made my first stop in Eastern Kentucky for gas I quickly realized I should've stopped in Ohio and waited again until Tennessee. The area seems sparsely populated but I felt like the people were something out of 'The Hills Have Eyes'. I did not feel safe at all and at each stop I made it just looked like a bunch of scary, inbred men were staring me down. Where were the women? Doesn't anyone produce outside of their family in these Hills? Why am I even stopping here? Those were just a few of the questions running through my mind. No offense to you Kentucky, but I immediately decided I would not be stopping anywhere off the highway in this state again. There was no warm greeting from the locals, only half-toothed sly grins and stares. I did enjoy the change of scenery though as I started to head into the mountains and reached Tennessee.

I think Tennessee was my favorite. There is a lot of beautiful landscape to look at as you drive through the Appalachian Mountains and every time I stopped I was greeted with a big smile and a super cute accent from the locals. Everyone I met was very friendly, especially when I reached the hotel. I stayed at the Best Wester Heritage Inn off I-75 in Chattanooga. They are right next to a large gas station, have a great, affordable, 24-hour diner attached, and are pet friendly. The front desk woman was so welcoming and seemed genuinely happy that I had chosen this hotel. Achilles and I quickly settled into our room where he chose to take the whole second bed for himself to stretch out. I would definitely recommend staying here if you are traveling through the area and I have visited quite a few more times as I traveled back and forth to Michigan.

I woke up around 10 a.m. the next morning and had a quick breakfast and then packed the car back up. The morning front desk agent was also very kind and wished me well on the rest of my trip South. The drive to Atlanta was only about an hour so I was lucky enough to skip over that morning traffic by getting up a little late. Driving through this city was amazing though. I usually hate cities, but they have their roads set up well so that if you are by-passing there are 4-5 lanes and they are on the outskirts of the city. I got to see all the large skyscrapers as well as some beautiful homes. Unfortunately though, I hit some random traffic that backed me up for about an hour just south of Atlanta. I'm assuming it was an accident because by the time I made it through I never saw anything that would've stopped us. I wasn't too upset though as I knew this was my last state to get through before reaching my new home.

Georgia is a really cool state but I-75 straight through is not the most entertaining drive. This is the longest state at about 5-6 hours and all there is to look at is billboard after billboard. Whether it's for the nearest sex shop, to stop abortion, or all the fast food you can imagine, they have a billboard for it every ten feet. I have to say that there really should be a limit to the amount of advertising you can do on one stretch of road. This part of the trip is also where it started to get hot. When I got out of the car for the first time it was to stop at Lane Peach Orchards for some lunch and it was a sweltering 90-some degrees outside with the sun beating down. I cracked the windows and left the car running so Achilles would be ok and then ran in with my extra key to grab some food and peaches. This orchard is the best and if you're going through Georgia I highly recommend you stop there. They have peaches and pecans and a great little cafe for meals. I let Achilles roam around the car while I ate and then we were off again.

I had to really hold on for the last few hours of this portion as I was getting extremely bored with the state. I made sure my 80s rock or 90s country music was blasting the whole time to keep my spirits up and before I knew it I hit Florida. I made sure I got a picture of the welcome sign and teared up with joy as I crossed the border. I still had a few hours until I reached St. Petersburg but just knowing I made it this far was incredible.

There is a drastic change in foliage when you enter Florida that I will never forget. It's like entering another world and there is no mistaking the two states because of their plants. They must plant lots of palms and other Florida native plants at the border to make you feel like you've entered this swampy jungle. I could not have been more excited to be here. I took in every sight, sound, and smell as we finished up the drive and assured Achilles we would be settled in our new home soon. Driving down a highway with palm trees all around me was my favorite part and of course I had to stop for orange juice.

After about 3 1/2 hours I arrived at a La Quinta Inn in St. Petersburg where I would be spending two nights before moving on to Eckerd's campus. This hotel was awful as the air barely worked and they could not provide me with a fan, as well as being in a sketchy area. I broke down and felt very lonely in that day between arriving and moving to campus, but after talking to my mom I pulled myself together and became very proud of myself for making it across the country on my own. I am so grateful to all those who supported me and to Achilles for being such a champ. I would recommend to any young person looking to move that they should go for it and to take in all they can when they do. The world is a beautiful and diverse place and we should all be so lucky to see more of it.