So, anyway, I bought a van. Let me introduce you to my RAM ProMaster, his name is Radar. I bought him with a very basic build already in place but will be upgrading and embellishing over the next couple of years. Stay tuned here and on my insta profile for van build updates!
The Van Life movement had been on my radar (pun intended) for years, but it wasn’t until my world collapsed around me with the abruptness of a slammed door that it became a goal. A vacancy sign was posted in the window of my mind for a new life dream and the dirtbag community was there to apply.
My new aspiration was to be a dirtbag.
It’s okay, you can laugh. A good sense of humor is one of the many ways I have survived the last couple of years and jokes about living in a van down by the river have been abundant.
Let me break this down for you. Vanlife was not my original dream. It’s the consultation prize for a life derailed by a corrupt judicial system.
Before the accident happened my plan was to go back to school for a degree in psychology and focus my life on supporting children in the foster system. I wanted to build a home that was safe, welcoming, and a place to heal. I had searched my soul for what filled me with the most purpose and meaning and dedicated myself to pressing into my genetic disposition to love and nurture. My original dream was to be a mother to those who needed it the most… it took less than a second for that dream to be crushed.
I am filled with gratitude that my story did not have a more devastating outcome. I closely follow The Innocents Project and the Equal Justice Initiative and am continually reminded that I walked away with a far better outcome than what could have happened. I am humbled by the realization that I have the freedom to adjust my dreams and goals and am not restricted by a lifetime of wrongful imprisonment, but I am ALSO grieving.
As I step into this life of wanderlust and adventure I am excited, hopeful, and expectant. I am also struggling because this was not the OG life goal, it’s the backup plan.
Please be patient with me and understand that this van life journey is bittersweet.