A Year of Van Life: Lessons from the Road
I cannot believe I have been on this crazy adventure of van life for an entire year. As I look back on all the ups and downs of this past year, I realize I have learned a few important lessons on the road. Some of them good and some of them challenging. Without further ado, here are my 5 lessons from 1 year on the road…
1. I am very happy living with less. When I started this adventure I was sure that I would miss all of the little luxuries, conveniences, and “things” that filled my house. However, after a year without all that stuff, I find that I really don’t miss much of it at all. The things that surround me in my van are functional and/or important to me. Things like books, pictures, and a calendar with every place I have stayed over the last year has a place in the van. My electronics and internet are important so I can work and stay in touch with family and friends which means they have a place. But, cooking with just two pans and storing my food in a pocket sized fridge is not all that big of a deal. All of the other things I used to ow were just more things to take care of, to keep clean, and to manage. Not having a long list of stuff to care for and manage means I get to spend my time on things that matter to me. And that gift of time is priceless.
2. My body needed rest. As a single parent and working mom I have spent the better part of the last 15 years taking care of everyone but myself. My kids, my patients, and my family all had needs that I put above my own. In doing so, I very rarely took the time I needed to sleep, exercise, and just rest. I think my average hours of sleep per night was 5-6. Not good. Since hitting the road, I have allowed myself time to rest and take care of me. I now sleep 7-9 hours a night which is insane. I used think I didn’t need sleep. I now realize I just didn’t allow myself to sleep. I workout 5-7 days a week and my body feels so much better. I let myself just rest by reading a book, wandering around a new town, or sitting outside in nature. All of this care and love of myself has made me feel monumentally better.
3. A van is not a place where you can escape your problems. One of my coping mechanisms when life got hard was imaging escaping my life. Whether that was hopping a flight to Europe, going on a cruise, or buying a van and hitting the road. I wanted to believe that changing my location would change my problems. Not the case. When you live in a small confined space with just yourself, there is absolutely no way to escape the things happening in your head. I have been working hard to better myself in therapy for more than 10 years. And thankfully having that background and a therapist that knows me well set me up to face these challenges head on. I have learned more about myself and become so much more the person I want to be in the last year than at any other point on my journey.
4. Being uncomfortable is the price tag of adventure. In the beginning it felt like every single part of my day was hard. Managing electricity, filling my water, setting up my internet, and finding camping spots were all out of my comfort zone. These daily tasks were new and clumsy and hard. And let’s not even talk about showering and dealing with the toilet. But, all of this discomfort and having to do new things even when I was scared is the price for the ability to travel. Over time I have learned how to do these things better and they have become my normal. However, they are still hard things. But now, I understand that if I want to sleep with a view of mountains in Wyoming, wake-up to a sunrise over the prairie in North Dakota, showering at Planet Fitness is the price of admission and I am happy to pay it.
5. I am capable of so much more than I ever thought I was. When I think about the reality of what I have done over the last year, I am so surprised by myself. I sold my house. I sold most of my belongings. I bought a camper van and just started living on the road. I had no experience and no idea what I was doing. I just had a dream, and I followed through on it. Even when it was scary and hard and lonely and uncertain, I didn’t give up. I followed through on myself.
This last year has been one of the most exciting years of my life. I have seen more, done more, and learned more than any other year of my life, and I can’t wait to see what the next year holds.
Happy Travels,
Heather
