The time had finally come when I had graduated college and it was time to enter the cruel working world. I have always been under the financial umbrella of my parents so naturally I was freaked out. A man can live on Ramen and Peanut Butter and Jelly for only so long. Well, I figured that if I'm going to be poor, I might as well have a godo time. I talked it over with two of my good friends and we all agreed that we weren't ready to get jobs. This was the birth of the road trip idea. We had been in school for years; studying day in and day out, and it was time to cut loose. We understood the reality that we would eventually need to get jobs, but we weren't going out without a fight; not without having a crazy adventure to send us off into the workforce.

We decided to take the northern route, which led us out of the armpit of a state we call New Jersey and on our way to Cleveland where we stopped briefly. From there we enjoyed the windy city; spent some time in Chicago chowing down on some deep dish pizzas. Next, we camped under the starlight sky in Nebraska?the scenery was stunning. Besides the occasional wrong turn, our first problem didn't arise until that brisk Nebraska morning. We awoke in the morning to find ourselves covered in bug bites. The bites weren't too painful, just annoying and embarrassing. We pretty much kissed goodbye to any chances of meeting some sweet country girls, since it looked as if we had chicken pox. The drive that day was beautiful, but when we stopped for gas I noticed that the car's hood was plastered with dried bug remains?blood, guts, and miscellaneous insect parts. Sounds appetizing doesn't it? We tried to wipe them off at the gas station with the window sponges but no dice. Those pesky insects didn't budge. I was starting to think they were never coming off and they were going to be permanently engraved on my hood, forever reminding us of our bug attack in Nebraska. But we ended up finding a car wash in Vegas and they came right off. Vegas was insane and as much as I'd love to share, I need to follow the rules, ?what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.? But I will say that after the trip we were ready to take a good shower and relax for a while. I definitely suggest taking a cross country trip; just make sure you do it with your best friends. Otherwise, you won't make it out alive.