Constantino Diaz-Duran is a fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University. He is chronicling his walk from New York to Los Angeles to celebrate his eligibility for American citizenship. Follow Constantino’s progress.

The last few days have been emotionally rough. I’ve been on the road for more than a month now, and I’ve traveled some 380 miles. This isn’t even 10 percent of the trip. I expected homesickness to strike at some point, but overestimated my ability to shrug it off. I miss New York, and there’s no use pretending otherwise.

It has also dawned on me that, in some ways, the real trip is just getting started. I’m sitting about 15 miles away from Richmond, Va., right now, Tuesday, Aug. 9th. I will be in the capital of Virginia by sunset, and while I resided in this state for six months when I lived in the DC area, I have never been this far south.

So far, I’ve been walking through familiar country – the parts of the U.S. that I have called home for the last 10 years. I am now, officially, out of my comfort zone. I’m sure I’ll come to feel comfortable here as well, but the heart beats fast even when the mind tells it to slow down. Ashland, the town where I spent the night, calls itself the Center of the Universe, and in a way (admittedly silly) I feel as lonely as if I were in outer space.

The good news is that people in this part of the country seem to be just as kind and open as the folks I met in the Northeast. Two days ago, I was stressing out because I don’t know anyone in Richmond and I didn’t know where I would stay (it’s kind of hard to find a place to camp in an urban setting). Now, I’ve gotten multiple offers of shelter. I think this warrants spending at least a day or two here. I look forward to being places I’ve never been before and meeting people I’ve never met before. I’m sure they will chase the loneliness away.

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*Photo by Constantino Diaz-Duran.