An idea

January 13, 2023

For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to travel. I remember watching the travel channel when I was younger and alway imagined myself traveling and living in Europe, more specifically in France or England.

My first trip out of the United States was to my family’s home country, Guatemala. I was perhaps 12 or younger. I wasn’t old enough to appreciate the trip, but I have faint memories with my family in the capital, Antigua, and Malacantan. One day, I hope to visit and write about my family’s history and stories. I then traveled to Paris, Barcelona, and Madrid for a school trip, and it was a complete dream come true. It’s a memory I hold close to my heart, and I will forever be grateful for that experience. In January 2020, I booked a spontaneous trip to London with my best friend, and it was amazing.

I didn’t travel within the United States much. California is a large state; you drive six hours north from Los Angeles, and you’re still in California. Growing up as a first generation Latina, I was limited in traveling. The United States felt foreign, and for a long time I thought you needed a passport to travel to a different state.

One of my favorite films, Smoke Signals, has a great scene where it perfectly puts it into words. I traveled to Arizona, Eugene, Portland and Chicago.

For the most part I did all these trips with someone.

When I became single, my mental health declined. I was depressed for a while and struggled mentally with everything that was happening to me. I had gone through a breakup, my dog died, had other bad relationship issues, and was unhappy with work. It got to be too much for me. In September, I went away for a few days up north to Willits, Fort Bragg, and Mendocino. I was alone, and for once, I wasn’t afraid of solitude. It was the first time I was content by myself. I enjoyed the trees and the ocean alone. For the most part, I didn’t speak to anyone. After that trip, I told myself I would never let the fear of being alone stop me from enjoying life or the world-safety always comes first and I will always share my location with my friends. Since then, I went to concerts by myself and enjoyed that as well.

Recently, I went to Missouri and was supposed to meet someone in Southern Illinois.

Long story short, plans didn’t work, and I never heard from them. What I thought was supposed to be a fun week turned out to be just that. I rallied and made the trip out to the midwest alone.

It was one thing to travel by yourself to another town, but to another state was a little nerve-racking. While on my trip, I brought a journal to write at places I ate, drank, or just relaxed. I realized how much I missed writing, and people took an interest in me as they saw a single Latina at a bar or restaurant alone. One of my favorite things is to have unique conversations with people and see the world through their eyes. So, I talked to the locals and had them give me recommendations and listened to their stories. You can see the pride in their storytelling, and it reignited my passion for travel writing.

I told people I was from California and never mentioned the city. I wanted to see if they wanted to know more because I'm not just from California. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and moved to Sacramento. Usually, it's the other way around. Almost with every person I met, I got nicknamed 'California.' One day I left a note for a waitress saying thank you, and I signed off, ‘Allison from California.’ I fell in love with that. So that’s where the name 'Allison from California' came from, and this entire trip inspired me to pick up writing again. Since the last time I wrote, I was a completely different person, and now I’m excited to evolve and share this journey with you.

xx