365 Days Later

I've traveled across the country, seen more beauty than I could ever imagine, and it's only been one year. It feels like I've been doing this for a second and a lifetime all at once. I am so grateful.

When I made it to Colorado, I thought to myself, "Awesome, you did the damn thing and drove to the mountains!" I moved on to the desert and thought the same thing. When I reached the Pacific Ocean, I thought to myself, "Wow, you drove all the way across the country." When I reached Washington State, I finally thought, "I haven't even seen half of it yet". I hit a year of being on the road, which felt like a huge milestone, but I know there's a lot more to see. This year, I learned a lot about the country, my camper, and myself- I'm super excited to say that the regular calls to my mom crying due to stress have stopped.

I took this journey for several reasons: the life I'd been building fell apart, I was living with my parents again, and I wanted to leave the state of Michigan. I thought, maybe I'll research a few cities and move to one of them, or maybe I'll do long-term Airbnb rentals for 3ish months and move around the country but none of my ideas felt sustainable. I'd been pulled into watching videos about van life online, and I LOVED the idea of It all. The only problem is I thought Hector would be very uncomfortable in such a small space, and office space would be nonexistent. I knew I wanted to travel the way van people do, but needed more space to do it with, that's when I landed on buying a camper. I grew up camping and saw my mom upgrade through different types of campers throughout the years. I thought that if I could find something that wasn't too big but gave me room to live + some running around space for Hector, I'd be golden. This idea terrified me.

I did it anyway.

Reaching a full year on the road felt surreal. When I left, I told everyone I'd travel for about two years, then see if I could figure out life again. I'm halfway to the two-year mark, and I've more than figured out life again. Since pushing myself to learn about this life and explore more of this country, I've felt freer, written more poetry, and played the most guitar ever. I fell in love with quiet nights, mountain air, and the people I met along the way. I created a micro-community anywhere I stayed for more than 1 night. The kindness of the people I encountered astounded me.

I was struck by the beauty of people's souls as much as the beauty of the landscapes surrounding me.

As much as I'd love to say it was my tenacity and courage that led me to this incredible halfway point, it was the people who loved me. It was my parents for uplifting and teaching me, and my friends calling me on my long drives, and it was the community behind me saying "you can do this".

365 days later, and I'm happy.