easy ridin'

Throughout the course of my own road trip I couldn't help but be reminded of the quintessential American road trip film, "Easy Rider". After Billy and Wyatt spend time in a commune, make thousands off a drug deal, and search for self discovery; Wyatt's final reflection reveals "We blew it."

In my interpretation, Wyatt seems to realize that freedom, happiness, and success aren't synonymous with sudden wealth. Like all road trip movies, the quite literal metaphor of "the journey" is used to relate to life and the lessons we learn along the way. I think one of the biggest lessons I learned was that no matter how tumultuous and conflict oriented our society seems to be on T.V., people still gather for the sake of community and connections. When people see a way they can lend a hand, they jump on a cause. We had complete strangers offer us places to stay for free. We met kind, happy people all over the country.

I think it's hard to see the goodness in people if you stare at them through a television screen, but don't take my word for it. See for yourself when you open up to the world.