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A Leap into the Unknown Swollen ankles, fat toes and eyes wide opened I stepped off the greyhound, to what I thought would be to some fresh air but instead I was hit with the most dangerous wave of heat that swept around me like a duvet on a California king bed! Luckily my father rescued me from the intensity and despair with a golden water bottle. I noticed black men riding horses. If that wasn’t strange enough the horse began showing off by dancing and galloping around as I caught my breath and gazed into the scenery, shocked that my friends were right. A Jersey girl was now in Texas. What a thrill! My dad asked, “Are you okay”? Before I could respond, he laughed and said, “this weather is like back home, relax you’re okay.” The home my father referenced was not the jersey stoop I grew up but Monrovia, Liberia. He began telling me stories about his tribulations as a child; that resembled the anxiety of my panic. The one and only time in his fifty-six years of living that he drank liquor to aid his starvation. Or like the time he walked twenty miles in the pouring rain to go to school wearing shoes with newspaper inside the holes to protect his feet from the rocks. He told me about another time where he graduated with honors but no one in his family went to his graduation. Standing by finally cooling off my dad and I had to get to campus. Out of nowhere this sexy guy walks up. Looking away while still listening to my father, I prayed that my dad doesn’t embarrass me. How does the saying go “Man plans and God laughs”. That couldn’t be truer. In the time it took for me to trash my empty piece of heaven, my dad was approaching the guy asking him for a ride towards campus. Surprisingly, he obliged. He took us to a nearby motel that would be close enough in case we had to walk to get some food, however the only food place that was five miles away was McDonalds. My dad’s colleague was meeting us later to get notebooks and supplies. As we waited, we bonded more. Limited funds so penny pinching was a necessity. After returning from hours of shopping, we noticed our food was gone the room was clean and there was no snacks insight. No transportation, just dreadful hunger. In the morning my dad called his colleague again to see if he would be able to come to our rescue, however no answer. Hours went by and still emptiness. My dad knew I wouldn’t be able to last much longer without some substance. So against my better judgment he walked. The commute would have been ten minutes in a car. All he had was love and a wet washcloth on his head to protect him from the heat. Sadly, I couldn’t give him one of my many hats because my luggage was stolen along the way. Freshman year of college I was known as the fashionable girl with the loving father, and I wore this as a badge of honor. Seeing the lengths and the risk he would go for my education and life gave me the fire and drive to make him proud. Gaining this opportunity to go million miles away to school with financial hardships was the honor I wore for myself. I took a leap so that other women would not be afraid to explore and reach new heights. Everything was against me but with my hero putting his pride aside to save me, I felt like I was becoming his hero by living up to his “American Dream”.