‘What is one picture that you feel represents freedom’

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All of the above.

This is a photo of the last exit in Memphis, TN before crossing the Mississippi River.

This was Sunday, April 10, 2022.

I had left at 8:38pm Friday, April 8, 2022 from Chapmanville, West Virginia.

I remember driving all night, mostly staying off the beaten path. The sunrise that morning was hot orange with a coolish breeze.

I rolled down the manual windows in my 07 Kia Rio. As I lifted the phone to snap this photo, a blast of wind shoved my little sub compact slightly to the right. With it came the smell of the sea.

The smell of my freedom.

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‘West of the Mississippi. Just get West of the Mississippi. I heard him say it, he wont go west of the Mississippi…’ had been the mantra for the past 29 hours driving straight. Now I found myself in the cab of my little douche bag blue Kia, nearly screaming it.

I wasn’t stopping and the gas light was 3 miles from on. I did not care.

Every fiber of my being strained to be across that bridge, only a handful of times I had wished to be somewhere else and it was happening.

Not only that… I had finally done it. I had finally become strong enough to protect myself and my boundaries. I finally made good on my promise. I fucking left.

In 24 hours I would be arriving in Arizona. To a place where I knew I would be safe. I didn’t know back then that Arizona would become my home.

Yet, here we are! Safe and Protected. Living a life that even at its worst, is a hundred thousand times better than anything ever in that place.

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Happy Easter Sunday to those who celebrate.-🍋💋