“Who is she?” I asked him with fury in my voice and tears filling my eyes.

“My girlfriend,” He said simply.

“Oh, I see how it is. Goodbye.” I turned to leave.

What a clod! I thought. Dad was right: Guys suck!

With my eyes watering, I left the school building and hopped into my mom’s SUV. I poured my heart out to her, telling her every single detail. She didn’t say very much, because she didn’t have to. The boy I wanted to take to prom had gone behind my back and gotten back together with his ex-girlfriend. The damage was done, and it was written all over my face. All I wanted to do was go home, have myself a good meal, and go to bed.

That’s exactly what I did. I slept like a baby that night. Until I got a text from my Godmother, all the way from California.

“Hey, sweetie. I haven’t heard from you in a while...I’ll call you tomorrow.”

I felt a little better just having a simple message from my Auntie Helen. We may live a thousand miles apart, but she always seemed to know just when I needed her.

The next day, after school, I told my fairy godmother (as I’ve always called her because of our shared affection for the Walt Disney Company) about my recent heartbreak. She understood completely. She also gave me some advice that has stayed with me to this day:

“You’re in high school now. You’re a caterpillar. This summer is the summer before college, the metamorphosis phase. Come September, when you’re at Suffolk, you’ll begin life anew. You’ll be a butterfly.”

After we said our goodbyes and hung up, I got a brilliant idea.

The next day at the dinner table, I told my parents what I was thinking: “I want to go to California.”

Mom and Pop exchanged a glance and then faced me. “What about prom?” My mom asked. “You know we can’t afford both of these things.”

I considered this for a moment. She did have a point, and I realized I had an important choice to make. Well, it was important, but it was also easy.

“Okay,” I said. “Forget prom. I haven’t been to California since I was five, and I’d like to see my godmother before I go to college.”

My parents agreed to help me pay for the expenses. Forget that fancy dress and heels, I needed a bikini and some flip-flops!

Of course, I still had a few more weeks of school to get through. They were pretty painful, especially every time I saw “The Jerk” with his girl. But I forgot all about that when I got an email before my spring break. The tagline read: “Itinerary for your upcoming trip”.

I couldn’t believe it, I was actually going to California!

Throughout the rest of the year, amidst college preparations and graduation work, I planned my trip as only I could. I went shopping and picked an outfit for each of the ten days I would be there. Of course, this included pajamas, not to mention bathing suits. I also checked out some travel guides on the Golden State from the library, making a small list of things I wanted to do. Disneyland and Hollywood were inevitable musts, but I also wanted to do some quieter activities. Activities like visiting the Mission at San Juan Capistrano and touring Crystal Cove, the filming location for Beaches.

Of course, it be so typical of me to become bed-ridden with a cold just three days before I was scheduled to depart. I had started feeling drowsy on my graduation night, but I just passed it off as allergies. Luckily I was all cleared up when my dad drove me to Logan Airport.

I’d like to be real for a moment: This was my first time traveling alone, and I was scared out of my shorts. In fact, I was so nervous, while I was waiting in the terminal I went into the men’s bathroom by accident! I never told anyone that until now.

But I knew it was too late for me to back out now. I had already come so far, and I wasn’t even on the plane yet. The old me would have called her mom and asked to be picked up right away. But the new me was telling me to breathe deeply and fasten my seat-belt.

I’m glad I listened to the new me. If I hadn’t, I would not have embarked on the journey of a lifetime.

From the moment I stepped off the plane at LAX, I knew I had made the right decision in choosing to visit California instead going to prom. While my friends were taking pictures on the town common, I was taking selfies in front of the Hollywood sign. The students of my high school rode a limo, I rode a roller coaster in Knott’s Berry Farm (The World’s Oldest Amusement Park). Some girl got a tiara and the title of prom queen, I got a Jack Skellington scarf and a button that said “My First Visit to Disneyland”.

It was my first big adventure as an adult, and I would not have traded it for anything.

I would like to take the time to thank the man who broke my heart. Wherever you are, thank you so much for proving to me life goes on after tragedy. Thank you for inspiring me to venture to the West Coast. It was the best vacation of my life, and I never would have experienced it without your help. So, from the bottom of my heart, I say, thank you. JERK!!