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Bryana Bouck

Professor Dewey

ENG 101

11 February 2019

Social Location Final Draft:

A Trip to Portland

As I tilted my head towards the airplane’s window, I met my eyes amongst the

most beautiful sight of greenery and fall-colored buildings, tiny houses, and cars within, what

appeared to be from above, tiny towns. It was a plain halved with one side of rain and a sunny,

yet breezy, counterpart. “I can already taste the vegan cuisine in the food carts within the hippest

city of America​—P
​ ortland!” I said to myself, leaning my head against the germ-filled window

glass. It was the strangest feeling; I had never been to Oregon before, but somehow, it felt more

like home than Arizona. Amongst arrival, I set one foot into the Portland airport and knew  ​this

would be the best vacation of my life. Being the 19 year old that I was, with my first ever couple

of paychecks, and an unfortunate, overbearing mother who created a not-so-great childhood for

me, this would be the first time I’d travel anywhere alone. This journey would make me come to

realize that I am, in fact, the independent adult that I’ve been so desperately trying to prove to

others that I can be.

I am going to pull back to a couple weeks prior, after my high school graduation. Picture

this: weird, anti-social girl who always sat alone in the library, with no friends except thirsty
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boys with secret motives. In reality, I wouldn’t have had anyone to invite with me on a senior

trip. ​The best solution would be to go to my dream national destination, on a budget, all by

myself. ​My mother didn’t approve. Though, I couldn’t care less and honestly, neither did she. I

mapped out the entire thing: the building I’d stay at, the destinations I’d go, transportation, food,

emergencies, souvenirs, and the total costs of each. I came up with a budget of $500. I barely

squeezed by with it, but by the end of the trip, I ended up with the exact amount subtracted from

what I initially started with.

Fast forward to the morning of departure. I woke up early in the morning to catch my

12:45 PM flight. My buddy at the time, Doug, drove me, as I did not have a vehicle myself. It

was the morning after Halloween. I only got a little drunk that night, but I was tired, nonetheless.

However, I was far too excited to let that affect me. I went through all of the usual airport

routines (ticket check in, security check, Starbucks coffee purchase…) and then made my way

inside Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. One thing I love about airports is the wide variety of people

it houses at one time. They could be going anywhere, and have any type of life. Y​et, for just one

moment, they all co-exist in the same place. ​I felt so independent walking through the door. For

once, I had freedom. I met a few awesome people at the airport while I was waiting for my flight,

such as the two workers at a small coffee and breakfast foods kiosk who sweetly congratulated

me on my decision to travel solo as a woman. I was fully prepared to face the journey ahead of

me.

As I ​implied previously, flying above Oregon was one of the most exciting, liberating,

and inspiring feelings I have ever had. When I landed at the Portland International Airport, I

bought a state souvenir magnet for my collection, which came to only three dollars in total (no
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tax; what a crazy concept). Afterwards, I took a light rail and transferred through two busses. I

felt so confident in the way I handled myself during the trip.

I pulled up to Alberta Street with a big smile on my face. “Its so cute!” I thought to

myself while looking at the Traveller’s House, a hostel I’ve planned to stay at for the rest of the

trip. The front door was locked and could only be accessed by a special passcode given to each

guest the day of check in. I typed mine in and wandered inside. Initially, the hostel was quiet.

The walls were painted many different complementary colors and looked like a millenial’s

dream house. The entrance had a chalkboard full of events to go to, and the front desk was

organized with brochures. The living room had a guitar hanging on the wall and the kitchen was

HUGE! Even the room I stayed in was adorable and modern. I was informed that I’d be rooming

with two people, both male and female. Their names were Molly and Noah. They were super

friendly and ended up being my sightseeing pals for half of the trip. Other than that, it was a

somewhat uneventful night, so I hung out in my bed, listened to some music, and prepared for

the next morning.

The next day, I decided to visit the town of Alberta Street with Molly. It was a beautiful

sight to see. There was street art on every building and fall leaves were scattered across the road.

We, of course, snapped some photos for Snapchat and Instagram. It was a wonderful day out. We

ended up finding a local dispensary in town that sold delicious chocolates, some which I ate

before taking a bus to the Portland Art Museum. Through this, I encountered one problem: I took

the wrong bus.

I ended up in a not-so-safe area and even lost my glove on the bus, so I called an Uber to

take me to the right place. The hospitality of every worker, including Uber drivers, was
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astonishing compared to the typical Phoenix attitude. I’d give the service I received a 5/5, most

definitely. The Portland Art Museum was having its monthly Free-Admission-Every-First-

Thursday event. Their featured showcase was Animation. I was moved by the 3-D art created for

movies. Every piece of work in that building was created with a story. I felt inspiration fly

through me with every glance. The building had many flights of stairs, and a whole lot of artistic

pieces. I spent about five hours looking around in awe. I even accidentally attended a video

viewing party and watched some short films after. I did all of these things by myself and had a

fantastic evening.

The morning after, I woke up and took an Uber to grab myself some breakfast. I had a

tasty panini sandwich and headed my way to what I thought would be an easy route. Though, to

my surprise, the path happened to be a giant Hell full of heavy breathing and step climbing. I

didn’t bring water and I thought I was going to die. Thankfully, however, I got through it safely.

“I finally made it”, I told myself as I reached the Portland Japanese Garden. It was fascinating to

learn more about the Japanese culture and to see all of the beautiful plants surrounding the area.

It truly encouraged me to think about the world as a whole.

A few steps away from the Japanese Garden was the Rose Garden. The flowers were

bright, colorful, and smelled divine. I took a stroll through the garden, which allowed some time

for self reflection. ​It was at this point that I realized life is bigger than most people imagine, and

it should not be taken for granted. With my decision to travel, I took an opportunity to learn new

things, regardless of the backlash I received.

When I got back to the hostel, I hung out with my roommates and a few other guests;

each of whom made up a group of people who spoke many different languages and had very
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diverse roots. The idea of all of us coming together in that singular moment, thrilled me. It

motivated me to travel more often.

On the third day of the trip, my roommates and I decided to take a stroll to Downtown

Portland. We decided to check out all of the sights, such as the Saturday Market, the “Keep

Portland Weird” Sign, Voodoo Doughnut, and Powell’s Books. However, there was one sight

that stood out from the rest of them, and that was an arcade called Ground Kontrol. Inside, was a

low-lit room full of old fashioned arcade games. I was in heaven. The bathroom even had a

moving image similar to Tetris on the ceiling! It was wild. This was a place that partially

affected my video game aesthetic today.

I played a few video games and ate some of the chocolates me and Molly got on day two.

Then, we headed further downtown. Molly, Noah and I found ourselves in a high school that was

showcasing an adult film festival. Normally, those two things would not mesh. It was a unique

choice, nonetheless. One part of this moment really made me feel like an adult; only those 18

years or older were allowed at the event. I felt incredibly mature. I will not go into too much

detail about the films, but I will say that there were a large selection of genres. Towards the end

of the day, we headed to a Thai restaurant down the street and I enjoyed the most delicious soup

of my life.

The fourth day was my last day in Portland. I said goodbye to my new friends and the

friendly workers at the front desk, then I headed to the airport. After I set foot on my plane back

to Phoenix, I began reminiscing about my new memories. I vowed to myself that I would come

back again one day to do it all over again.

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With the experience I gained, I felt as though I could conquer life without issues. I

learned simple tasks, such as crossing a busy road, and big tasks, like traveling safety. I was put

down my entire life growing up, which led me to become co-dependent. During my travel, I

learned how to break out of that vicious cycle. I realized how beautiful the planet is and how

every second in life counts. It gave me inspiration to create art, and allowed me to meet new

friends. My adventure in Oregon was one that I will never forget. I took back major life lessons

and proved to myself that I am more than my mother’s puppet on a string.