The Road, Opened.

5, 10, 12-hour solo drives… somehow all became a muse for freedom.

“I am twenty-two and very much aware I am somewhere between who I was and who I am becoming. I am still naive about most things, with what equally feels like intuition. So I dont mind that I’m naive about most things because I also believe in what I do know. I’ve always felt a yearning for something more, something different, and because I’ve finally found the courage to start taking real action toward it, I simultaneously feel like a baby deer learning how to walk. I know I can do it, I know I’m meant to do it, but I’m still learning how. And so the how becomes a moment to moment process, although I’m much to proud to let anyone know I’m pinged with doubts… so I keep that part to myself.”

It’s here, I feel limitless. Although it wasn’t always that way - a long drive used to feel too confining. Confronting even.

You could say life used to feel that way too.

All of it neatly contained and narrowed into something simple to comprehend.

Until I found freedom here - still learning to stand on my own, I wobbled getting my voice out.

I created even when I felt silly.

I shared my heart, even when I questioned if I knew anything at all.

Slowly liberated. All of it becoming cathartic.

Finally exhaling the life force running through me, into the world around me.

Here, the monotonous becomes a miracle.

Freedom was never a wide open road with no responsibilities, though dont tempt me with a good time.

Freedom has always been an inside job, that changes the way we experience.

If I am trapped by my mind, I am trapped by my experience.

If I am free in my mind and soul… my experience is a slice of heaven.

The road didn’t open. I did.

“I sit here swinging on the same hammock in Telluride I did years ago, reflecting on all the “hows” I once wondered about. Every single one of them found it’s way into an answer. And still, the words from my 22-year-old heart ring true, in what feels like lifetimes later.”

• The Road, Opened. Written by Amanda Crocitto

For those who have touched what it means to be free.

Arizona, Dec. 2025