600 Miles to Toronto
A Road Trip Narrative
On Sunday we decide to go to The Toronto Zoo.
It is about an hour drive out of the city. I am the navigator,
trying to get us to the Zoo with the dinky map their pamphlet provided. It turned out that the streets,
although seemingly quite close on that deceiving little map, were in fact about 20 miles apart. We finally
make it with no wrong turns, but some well deserved irritation with the mapmakers who see some point in
putting a very useless map on their pamphlet for the Zoo. The Toronto Zoo is the most impressive Zoo I
have ever been to. It sits on 800 acres, which allows each animal to have space more closely reminiscent
of what they may have had in the wild. We spend about 6 hours touring the Zoo and see only half of the
exhibits. I wish we had come here sooner; I enjoyed the Zoo more than anything else we did on the trip.
Perhaps this is a reflection of the fact that although I am free to move around as I wish, I still desire
to be �caged� for comfort and security. All of the animals, except for the occasional bird, are caged at
the Zoo. I imagine most of them were bred in captivity and thus have never smelled their home territory or
had the feeling of independence. Although these animals do not lose all of their wild instincts, otherwise
they would not be caged, they do lose some. It would be my guess that they would not be able to survive in
the wild. If turned loose they would not know where to go and would likely seek the confines of their cage
again. In the Zoo their cage becomes their home, their security blanket.
I realize at this time that independence is a much more complex word than I had imagined. Although I
am taking steps towards my independence, I am not yet completely there. Now I am wondering if I ever want
to be. I still rely on my parents for food and financial support. When I go home, nothing about my life
will have changed. I now think complete independence comes with a price. To me it means not relying on
anyone, for anything. For example, in
Thelma and Louise, when the two women found their freedom and became
independent from men and the things that held them back, they died. The world was not a place that could hold
them, their boundaries had become too large and they had to make a choice between driving off a cliff and facing
a life of imprisonment. I imagine I will always rely on my Mother for emotional support. I am going to rely on
my parents to pay for my wedding, as well as help me with school and provide financial support for my start in life.
If I desired to be completely independence I would lose all of these things. While it is important that I learn not
to lean on my parents for everything I need, I always want them there in case I need help. To me true independence
has come to mean the ability to make my own decisions and provide myself with my own basic needs while still being
open to accepting help from others. Being independent means being responsible and mature. I think it is mature
to realize when you need help, and responsible to accept this help when it is offered to you. This will allow you
to get further in life than you would if you had struggled along on your own. Therefore I see independence as
being something that helps you throughout your life, a key component that will allow you to �be all you can be�
if you are willing to accept it. It is a slow process that is built upon until you reach the end of your life.
At this point many people lose their spouses, parents, or loved ones. They are now on their own and must fend for
themselves. This is the true measure of independence. However, statistically many people do not live up to this
test. Most people die shortly after their spouses. Maybe the human species was never meant to be independent in
this manner.
On the way back to the hotel I realize this is our last day in Canada. I think back over what we did and realize
how much fun I had. Taking this trip helped me mesh the information I was reading about the early history of
Toronto with the real city. I think the experiences here have changed me. They have made me more confident
in my abilities and in effect, started me on my way to becoming an adult, while allowing me to realize I still
have a long way to go. I came into the city being to afraid to drive, I left navigating my way to Niagara Falls,
the Toronto Zoo, and Medieval Times for dinner. I experienced my first stay in a very fancy hotel and handled
all of the problems associated with that stay on my own, quite effectively I might add. I managed our money carefully
so that we spent all of our Canadian money and stuck to the budget we had proposed before leaving. I traveled
600 miles from home, crossed the border into another country and lived to tell about it. There is something
about traveling and being on the road that allows you to see things with more clarity. Sal and Dean realized
this in
On the Road. They traveled from place to place because their identity became part of the road, part
of their travels. I think traveling and driving for miles on end morphs you into someone you would not otherwise be.
It makes you a little freer, a little more independent and allows you to analyze things from a completely different
perspective. If I had not taken this trip I would not have learned what independence means for me. Toronto,
although a little piece of the puzzle, gave me my first glimpse at independence. Although I know life will
present challenges I do not always emerge from so successfully, my first trial at independence was successful.
At this point, having the confidence in myself is all that matters. On Monday morning we rise bright and early
and head out on the road, back home.
Website created by: Robert Parkhurst and Jennifer Pumphrey