"We can't just go to Colorado."

"Why not?"

"Because--"

"We're going to Colorado."

Every group of friends has the logical one. The one that reminds you that you can't get a cat because you can barely afford to live off ramen and spaghettio's. No, you can't just go to England, you need a passport. Yes, you actually need to get a degree and write the paper for class.

I'm not that friend. I'm the one who wants a cat and to go to England and continuously threatens to just drop out of college. I'm the one the logical friend has to balance out.

So, what happens when the logical friend says yes to the crazy one's plan?

An epic road-trip. That's what.

The summer before my junior year of college, my friends and I sat around a bonfire, joking about wanting to see our friend Branson and his band, Shatterproof. Suddenly it wasn't just a joke. We were legitimately planning out our route to Denver. It was a 23 hour drive according to google. Sam's car had the best gas mileage. We could crash in my dorm the night before. We could do this. When we would have a chance to do something slightly reckless like this again anyways?

So we went to Colorado, despite the delays the universe threw at us. The fire alarm in my building was broken and it went off around five times between the hours of 1 am and 4 am the night before the trip. I was sick and lost my voice the day before we left. None of the adulty-adults in our lives were thrilled about our decision. But nothing was going to stop us.

I didn't tell my parents where I was going until we were halfway through Ohio (I don't advocate doing this). We learned that the middle states of the USA are extremely boring. Lawrence, Kansas is a not a good place to make a pit stop in the middle of the night if you're a Supernatural fan. There's a time difference between PA and CO and even though you've been driving for over thirty hours, you will arrive in Denver and everything will be closed.

Because of that trip, I finally got off the East Coast of the USA. I saw my favorite band play at Warped Tour and got to meet all of them. I chatted with my favorite director about his work and what he's planning on doing with his career. My other favorite band filmed their set and my friends and I made it into their music video (even if it's only like five seconds of us in the crowd). I made connections with people I never would've met if I stayed in my bubble in PA. I grew so much in one trip and I don't regret a single thing about my Colorado adventure (except maybe not telling my parents...My dad wouldn't talk to me for about a month).

The moral of this story is to say yes more often. Say yes to what scares you. Go to Colorado. Get the cat. Visit England. Maybe don't drop out of college. But if you really hate it, don't stay. If you stay in your comfort zone, you will never learn. You will never be challenged. You will never grow. Do what is scariest to you: I promise it is completely worth it in the end.