User: Describe how you planned a father and son high school senior trip
Assistant: My son and I, embarked on a biking trip from San Francisco to LA right before my son's college applications and essays were due. To start our journey, we rented a truck and transported our bikes from LA to San Francisco. We returned the truck in San Francisco and started our journet on our bikes. Our trip took eight days and was full of adventure and unexpected twists and turns. We had to stay in motels and camp sites along the way and endure biking many uphill miles. Our meals tasted the best after a lenghty daily travel, and the most enjoyable was the deep conversations we had without interruption of phone or social media. I shared my never spoken before youth experiences growing up in Iran. He seemed delighted to be hearing my experience and taking a mental note every step of the way.
Upon reflecting on our trip, we encountered numerous challenges. We lost our way for several miles, and to compound our predicament, our bikes broke down along the way. In addition, we were cited by the police for riding our bikes on the freeway and physically assaulted. Despite all these setbacks, we pushed ourselves to ride up to 80 miles each day.
Even to this day, my son frequently recalls our trip and how it brought us closer together. He also acknowledges the spiritual growth that we experienced as a result of the journey.
He was accpeted as the only two students to Berkely and many months later I asked him what set him apart from all A's students which he then responded my colledge essay and our SF biking trip.