on that midnight bus to Boston! I haven't been home for Thanksgiving in 3 years, and i really had no intention of going this year either, but i'm going. there's a few different reasons i chose to opt out of this family holiday once i was old enough to decide for myself. One being distance. going to boston means catching the sub from my house to the bus station, taking a 6 hour commute, then catching the sub again from the Boston bus station to my mother's house. and then do the same thing a few days later all over again to return to philly. it's hell. before, i'd have to catch Chinatown and deal with switching companies, and layover time, and pushing through rowdy crowds in New York. hell. it's a bit better now though, with Megabus' direct route, but still. an overall 13 hour commute sucks. and since thanksgiving and christmas are so close together, i didnt see the need to make the trip twice in such a short amount of time, so i always picked christmas. the other reason was finances. over the past few years up until now, $50 was a lot to dish out, meaning doing both holidays equaled $100 that i just didnt have. with Megabus' low prices, it's more feasible now. next reason: weak family ties. sad but true. when it comes to extended family, i don't know them that well, and that made me not feel compelled to take a long journey in order to spend time with them. for the most part, my cousins are wayyy older than me, and on top of that, i wasn't raised around them. my memories of thanksgiving as a child is me being bored out of my mind. i have nothing against them, but they're not exactly the most exciting bunch of people. but when it comes to my immediate family, i love them to death, and i don't know what i'd do without them. they make me laugh and support me through everything. this year, my brother asked me to come, and i just couldn't say no. plus my other brother and his wife are having thanksgiving at their house, which is much better than having to go to my aunt's house. i think a trip to boston is good right now in the midst of being stressed over finals. seeing family will do something that NO ONE in philly can do right now: put a genuine smile on my face.
as opposed to my most recent trip to Boston, i can actually visually document this one thanks to a good friend of mine who gave me an old digicam he didn't need anymore. i have my big professional DSLR, but i hate lugging it around. i only like to use it for professional or artistic shoots. now i finally have a small compact one that i can use for fun. despite having to work tomorrow, i'll pretty much be spending the next couple days relaxing and getting ready for my trip. when i get back i'll post a video :) haven't done that in a while
this past year and a half was full of frustration and let downs, but that's all behind me now. i recently made the move to walk away from anything that was holding me back, and it felt so good! i have NO time for bullshit anymore. i still have a long way to go, but i'm happier now with myself, and my direction, than i've ever been.
