So there we were, packed into a Chevrolet Spark, embarking on a hilariously chaotic adventure to Texas. The car was crammed with vacuum-sealed bags of clothes, all laid flat to make room for our poor dog, whose head nearly touched the ceiling. With only $350 to our name (thanks to some awful loan apps), we set off on a 12.5-hour journey.
The day we left was a whirlwind. I worked from 8 am to noon, rushed home, and quickly headed to the courthouse to get married. It was Halloween day, which was special because my husband and I had made our relationship official on Halloween in 2018, and now we were tying the knot on the same day in 2022. After the quick ceremony, we went home, finished packing, and left around 1 am, driving for about four hours before crashing at a hotel out of sheer exhaustion.
The next morning, we hit the road at 9 am and continued our journey to Texas. The car was so packed that I had things in my lap and between my feet the whole way. My poor dog barely had enough room to sit up and turn around. It was quite the sight!
One memorable stop was in Arkansas. After filling up the tank, we moved the car to a spot between the gas station and a sketchy hotel. While my husband walked the dog in a nearby field, I sat in the passenger seat with the door open. Suddenly, I noticed a strange man about 10-15 feet away, staring intently at a small tree. Every hair on my body stood up; I felt something awful. When he turned to look at me, I saw a big-ass knife on his hip, his hand resting on it.
I immediately started calling my husband, who was out of sight behind a semi-trailer parked horizontally at the front of the field. As soon as I began calling, I heard my dog barking and growling. My husband and the dog came running full speed, causing the man to take off towards the hotel. My life flashed before my eyes—I knew he was about to do something. Thank God for my husband and our dog! I remember calling my grandpa to tell him about the incident, and he just laughed and said, “Only you, Chelsey. Only you.”
Finally, we reached Texas. As we got closer to Dallas, the traffic became a nightmare. The terrifying spaghetti noodle highways and gridlock traffic moving at 80 MPH were a stark contrast to the three-lane highways in Ohio, where people drive annoyingly slow. The traffic felt like real-life Mario Kart, with cars zooming around and changing lanes abruptly. Even though I wasn’t driving, I was on the verge of a panic attack. We got lost multiple times due to lanes abruptly ending into exits or exits being on both sides of the highway. And those weird U-turn lanes—what’s up with that? Columbus seemed like a big city, but Dallas could be its own state!
Driving past the AT&T Stadium and seeing so many impressive buildings was fascinating. I ended up driving on the highway once the entire time we were in Texas, and it was awful. I was not used to that kind of fast-paced traffic. When we finally arrived at our new one-bedroom apartment, it was clear that the “luxury” apartments advertised were anything but.
Despite all the chaos, we had fun. My usually quiet husband talked a lot during the trip, and you could feel the excitement in the air. It was a new chapter in our lives, and we were freshly married. Even though we were poor as hell, it was all so exciting.
Even though we were excited, we were also very scared. My husband only got his stipend once a month, and while I transferred my job to the Dallas office, they didn’t have a desk for me when I arrived. One day, the office manager literally told me there was nowhere to put me. So, I lost my job the second week we were there. With my husband only getting paid once a month, we ended up going hungry a couple of times. It was scary. He was attending this incredibly hard school with maybe a pack of ramen noodles for the day. It still makes me cry and breaks my heart.
I applied to dozens of jobs—probably about 10 a week. Since we had only one car and he was in school Monday through Friday, my availability was heavily limited. I had to find a job where I could drop him at school and then go to work. His school was about 35 minutes from our apartment. It took me about seven months to finally get a job. It started early and was about 25 minutes north of his school. So, I would drop him at school super early and then drive to my job. When I got off work, I would swing by and pick him up. We did two hours of commuting every day. It was hard on our mental health. We both fell into a pretty gnarly depression that we still struggle with at times. There were times I would call my family and just cry because I wanted to leave so badly because of the stress.
But thank God I have a very loving and supportive village. My village consists of my family and three lifelong friends that I’ve had for more than 15 years. My grandpa was also my rock. Some people say they are a daddy’s girl or a momma’s boy, but I am a grandpa’s girl. That man is everything to me and more.
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