Happiness In Kansas

I recently made the 14 hour round trip trek to Manhattan, Kansas. Taking a roadtrip and attending a visitor football game was on my bucket list and what better time is there than the present.

Hannah and I miraculously left by 8:30am on Friday. The drive was filled with falls in the mud, run-ins with highway patrol, questionable roadtrip food and of course we ran out of gas in a town with population 12. When we reached Kansas State, we had no where to stay, no one to call and no agenda. It was perfect. We reminded ourselves that moments like these are where you truly experience life and we did just that. We made every moment count, met some of the craziest characters, played a horrible football game but tailgated in a million dollar RV, barely got sleep and before we knew it- we were back out on I-70 heading west.

Everyone told me Kansas was one of those states you can do without- that it's the same as Nebraska and Oklahoma and that there's nothing really there. Lies. I've never been to Oklahoma (next roadtrip?) but I've been to Nebraska and it was completely different. Kansas is gorgeous- Kansas knows fall. The colors were the kind you read about in books or the kind you crave to fill a blank canvas with. The open road offers everything. Miles of clear thoughts, blue skies and a few clouds that let your imagination run wild. The Kansasans, as I liked to call them, contain the most school spirit I've ever seen. They bleed purple and the entire town is dedicated to the Wildcat mania.

When I was applying for college, I thought it was going to be the biggest decision of my life. I spent hours looking at pictures, reading blogs and trying to figure out where I'd find myself. By the end, my dad reminded me that wherever you go, there you are and months later I moved to CU and now years later here I am- still happy as ever to have chosen CU but my happiness here wasn't found- I created it. I truly think that I would have been happy anywhere I attended school because you make it what it is. I'm about to make another one of these "life changing decisions" and currently it seems like the biggest yet- where to go after graduation. But I think it's clear that I'll make life enjoyable anywhere. Whether I end up in Manhattan, Kansas or Manhattan, New York I know I'm going to be just fine.