The Journey Into My Happy Place

It’d been approximately 14 hours on the road on our trip to New Jersey, 840 minutes, 50,400 seconds, & 28 half hours, time felt limitless on our journey to the great state of New Jersey. Passing by welcome signs to several states felt soothing but nothing too significant in my attempt to diminish the load, that being my mental state which wasn’t anywhere close to strong enough to power me through this tedious & lengthy car ride. For what felt like days the car ride made me feel like a cardboard box that had goods in it that you bought online, except the unfortunate part about it was that the delivery wasn’t from yours truly Amazon Prime, & the delivery was free. To say I didn’t know how to deal with being stuck in this four door Honda for the rest of the ride would be nothing less than on point in that very instance, but suddenly the same car ride that had put me into mental turmoil had produced one of the greatest ideas for an experience I had yet to encounter in my life, we’d been in the car for awhile & then we saw a highway exit sign for Pittsburgh.

Seeing the letters of the city on that leafy green highway sign sent a shockwave of emotion throughout me, every instinct in my body was indicating to me that I needed to go, right then & there, at that specific moment in time. Within a mere seconds of laying my eyes on it I asked my parents in the front seat approaching them with several convincing arguments, my mom replied: “I guess we need to take a break & stop somewhere”, “Yes, yes we do.” I replied, attempting to agree with my mother in order to strengthen my case. After conversing with my parents as the exit approached we’d come to the consensus that we were taking it, just like that & all of a sudden my emotions grew out of the depths of boredom & raised to the heights of excitement as I released a sigh of relief. Minutes later as we reached the city, I took a look out of the back seat window of our van, taking it all in, the buildings, the people, the restaurants, & the stadiums. I was truly in my happy place, I’d been a fan of the cities’ local football team the Steelers for nearly half my life, for as long as I remember knowing the great game of football. On the move to the heart of the city, we approached one of Pittsburgh’s many bridges, “What a beautiful view of the city & the river!” my mother said, as we all looked out through the car windows simultaneously. Enjoying the scenery that encompassed our silver Honda odyssey, my mom put down each transparent window, & as the wind ran through her long blonde hair on our ride across the bridge, the positivity in my spirit felt impeccable similar to that of in the euphoria stage of bipolar disorder. As the ride over the bridge had come to an end we took the first exit out to the riverfront & there it was, “Wait a second! We’re in this part of the city? NO WAY!” I said as my eyes widened & my jaw dropped. I’d spent years & years watching games on television but nothing, & I mean nothing, compared to being there in person, what felt like home in more ways than one.

Off the exit, we’d then entered the part of the city that I was most excited for, my facial features & body language alone had my parents know that this was going to be an experience that I would never forget. Unlike my moms’ long blonde hair, which was rapidly blowing in the wind as we drove over the bridge, the positivity in my spirit could not be pushed around, in the back of my mind I couldn’t help but give attention to the lingering idea that this would be a place I venture to more than just once, a place destined to be rediscovered by me, down the line, in the future. Heading down the exit as our speed & elevation both gradually decreased, the utter content I had fueled my kindness towards my family, my dad’s gray hair, white & navy blue nike air monarch shoes that he enjoyed so much had made a connection in my brain, I was never able to understand his commitment & level of interest in those two things he loved, the pair of shoes that he’d worn for over two decades & the gray hair that he’d sported for many years now felt attainable because of the level of passion I had learned through loving this city & seeing how immensely someone can love something even at age fifty-three. Approaching Art Rooney Avenue, the name of the road that held my favorite destination, my mom noticed people parking & making their way to the stadium, quick to wisely draw attention to the situation my mother made it known, “There!” she yelled, “Great eyes, Mom!” I responded, & we followed suit. Parked in the lot beside the stadium, my energy was raging high as if I’d just downed several monster energy drinks. We crossed the street & made our way to the entrance, walking beside the steel stadium I couldn’t help but notice that this place felt like home, within the same state in which many of my family members including cousins, aunts & uncles lived & being the home of my favorite sports team of all-time felt marvelous. As we made our way into the stadium towards the Great Hall, one filled with many steeler artifacts & memorabilia, housing old lockers of hall of fame players with their game worn jerseys & helmets, as well as the six great Super Bowl trophies that the franchise had one throughout their history, like a kid in a candy store, I was emotionally enthralled & double stuffed with gratitude. After spending what felt like just a couple of minutes in the Great Hall, but was over an hour in reality, we made our way out & kept walking towards one of Heinz Field’s two circular ramps, with every level we made our way through on our way up to the top my excitement escalated, the anticipation of what the view would look like from above. 

I couldn’t help but feel grateful, for my parents who got me here, for the car ride that I once dreaded, & for the city that I loved so much because it created & is the home of the football team that I’ve loved with passion for most of my life. The emotional journey I had just experienced on this one day made me feel optimistic, the many ways it impacted me & the nostalgia it produced, let me know deep down inside that I will have a future here. I wasn’t the first in my extended family to be a Steeler fan, & family was nearby in the state, couldn’t help but wish to eventually have a family in Pittsburgh, after all, the stars were aligning with my interests. As I continued to speed walk up the ramp, my dad yelled “Wait up Garrett!” from what felt like two levels down, “Almost there!” I yelled back to him, almost there I thought to myself again, which put a grin on my face no matter how hard I tried to hold it off. Making my way up the final staircase, I was the first to reach the very top, due to my unparalleled excitement within my family, I swiftly made my way to one of the edges, the view was nothing short of breathtaking, the stadium, the river, the city buildings, & my life, all of it couldn’t have been any better in that moment.