Everyone has a dream. I am no exception. I do have a dream like all other men and women. However, I guess, my dream is not static. It grows and changes through time. It is like a life journey. Each night is a good time for the body to obtain a good rest in preparing for tomorrow. When I was young, I dreamed that I would write a book. I now have more than twenty books published in my native tongue language. When I was at eighteen, I dreamed of running a marathon one day. I did it twice. Just last year, I dreamed of walking across America. Many of my friends think that I am dreaming on. The idea of walking America is so indigestible. In fact, they think I am utterly impractical. Only a few see how hard I am dreaming up. 

      In 1882, Jim Ogland rode his high-wheel bicycle covering a distance of 3,358 miles from San Francisco to Boston. In 1896, Helga Estby, a Norwegian immigrant, walked 3,500 miles across North America with her daughter Clara for a prize to save her family farm. From 1969 to 1970, four men- Jessie Wise, O.J. Peterson, Arthur Blessitt and Jim McPheeters- carried a cross across America, for their belief mission. In 2007, a young man name Michael trekked 3,300 miles across America to raise funds and awareness for American Lung Association. Not long ago, two men quit their jobs and traveled across America: Josh Caldwell rode a Segway while Hunter Weeks did the documenting. Another woman name Kim Denmark from Dayton, Ohio, has been walking for more than 74 months just to understand the lives of the disadvantaged. Another retired man, Don Stevenson, has walked more than 33,000 miles for a number of charities. A teacher named BJ Hill walked on the road for 11 months to about 4,000 miles just to collect messages from American people addressing to the next elected President of our nation. 

      Like the people aforementioned above, my passion is to step on the land of America, from shore to shore. I will cover a distance of 2,500 miles from San Diego, California to Jacksonville, Florida. I am not the first, and I am not the last. I am just a part of this ongoing spiritual journey...  

“Be daring, be different, be impractical; be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, and the slaves of the ordinary.”

        --Cecil Beaton, English photographer 
 

Why: This question is important. Why? Simply put, I am a human fellow. Thus, I will walk this nation as a blessed human who finds this the best way he can possibly show how deeply he appreciates his privilege and to this great land of ours. 

Who: To whom is this walk dedicated? Without hesitation, I would say this walk is for my American fellow citizens, to the people of my origin Vietnamese, and to all humankind. This walk is for all human beings whose blood is red- especially for the unheard, the unseen, the mute, the blind, the helpless, the forgotten, and the invisible.  

How: I am planning to walk alone. I only receive logistics from organizations that sponsor my project. I have only 6 months for this project. Visiting local points on my route is almost impossible (although I truly wish to see every single town of America). All activities generated in this journey belong to the people of America.   

What: What is this walk for? To be honest, this walk is for me personally. However, my life passion is to become an educator. I can only give what I must have. This walk will prepare me for this life role. Thus, this walk serves multiple purposes - particularly to further investigate existential and phenomenological psychology (and I myself a subject), to enhance life purpose education, to boost spirituality, to raise awareness, to connect people, and to convince everyone, especially young people, that they can do something that is bigger than themselves.  

The details of SHORE TO SHORE Project are broken down into the following points: 

Length of coverage: 2,500 miles (San Diego, CA to Jacksonville, FL)

Qualification/Training: I earn a living by reading water meters (I walk averagely 10 miles daily). I have run two marathons. I am a U.S. Army Veteran.  

Methodology: I will walk on foot from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast.

Companionship: I will walk solo while receiving support periodically from sponsoring

Meals: I will purchase food from truck stops, gas stations, and from personal donations.   

Lodging: I will ask for support from hotel chains, or I will have my camping tent. 

Activities: I will take picture and notes, draw, write songs, and mainly reflect on social issues.  

Logistics: I will seek assistance from nonprofit and commercial organizations (for lump sum or per diem grants). 

such as lodging, air tickets, and camera film are not calculated at this time. Total estimation for this project is about 15,000 USD.  

Investment: I have saved for this project around 5,000 USD.

Sponsor candidates: All organizations are welcomed to contribute to the Shore to Shore project. All contributions are greatly appreciated.    

      This is my life goal. This is more than a project. It is a vocation that I am called to every day and night. I have been receiving so much positive support and encouraging words from friends who empathize with me. I do not know what this life project will turn me into, but I know I cannot refuse this call. 

      I am a cicada. He is born to make some noise for once in his life. This is the time for him. All living organisms on earth having one life to live, so do I, and so does the cicada.