Dear Beloved Diary, I recall the moment when my friend returned after years of trading fur in the West as a Mountain man. His stories of riches in the West convinced my parents to trek away from our lovely home in New York to reach a place unknown to me. I gathered my very few belongings and helped Ma pack some of the food for the long journey ahead of us on the Oregon Trail. This is now a part of my very distant past. We have been traveling for five weeks now and have struggled to overcome obstacles. For about a week we have had a food shortage and I am forced to eat in very small portions. Unfortunately, my father injured his arm and is now unable to hunt. Ma and I try to make due with just berries and plants we see along the way. We have had to cross rivers which has caused us to lose a grand majority of our supplies. Along the way, we have met many new people who all travel for different reasons. Some hope to find riches, others are in search of freedom. We met a family of Mormons who had been denied the right to practice their religious duties. I met their eldest daughter Emily, who like me is terrified of the journey ahead of us. Dearest Diary, We settled in Oregon Country, where we lived for only three months. My family and I disliked the overpopulation and decided to move all the way to Texas. My father said that the government promised to grant each family that settled in Texas a large piece of land. Of course a child of my age ponders of what life in Texas will be like. My father answered every question I threw at him. He told me that Texas wanted to gain independence from Mexico. To gain independence he explained to me that the people begun a revolution. He said about 5 years ago there were two important battles that helped them gain complete independence. One battle was in the Alamo, where a small number of rebels fought against a large Mexican army. Months later, they captured Santa Anna leading to their independence. Ma