Awakening in a time of pandemic
The start of a new journey.
Olá friends! If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a lot like I was a few months ago. Burnt out and attempting to satisfy a wanderlust by dreaming of travel. I thought that a few vacations per year would scratch that itch. Instead, I found myself watching travel shows, reading travel blogs, following travel instagrams, thinking this would satisfy me for the interim.
The covid-20 pandemic caused an awakening that can only be explained by one sentence. We, don’t, need, these, things. As a nation we were suddenly and collectively fighting for our health, human and civil rights, and our own country back. However, our decision to sell most of our belongings and home and spend our lives traveling wasn’t out of fear. It was one made out of pragmatic thinking. After attempting to plan a future European vacation for 4, we realized we had a list of places to travel that much exceeded the dividends in our bank accounts ($4500 just for plane tickets to Europe, WHAT?!). I started researching, as I tend to do when I’m feeling anxious and somewhat despondent.
The more I researched, the more I stopped quieting those nagging thoughts and questions that had followed me all of my adult life. What if all we knew was a societal construct? What if the ideology of this capitalistic lifestyle is meant to benefit everybody but us? What if we didn’t let fear hold us back from authenticity and adventure? I realized that these questions deserved to be explored and more importantly, that, we can’t take any of this with us when we die.
It took a few months of pandemic fueled anxiety and finally being able to spend months in a home that we struggled and clawed our way up to afford to finally convince my partner of the idea of leaving everything behind. After hours of wine, and deep conversations (yes we are married and yes we have lots of those, really), we finally just committed. We started selling all of our belongings and making arrangements to sell our 1930’s dream home. Trust me, I see the irony in this. I am no stranger to my privilege. That is what made me most uncomfortable about this suburban lifestyle. I began to then question more. Why can’t we live off of less and leave others more? Why can’t we do that somewhere else? After all, I am a web developer building a freelance business! Can we live a more sustainable and more nomadic life?Can we contribute positively to a society that allows us to feel truly free?
The answer is YES! But it wasn’t here in the U.S. So here we are. Two weeks away from listing our home. Most of our belongings are sold our packed up for storage and our in-laws are preparing for us to move in with the kids ( our 1 & 3 year old boys), so we can save money and spend at least the next year traveling. Where will we go? Well, in the midst of a pandemic, out of respect and safety for others, nowhere yet! But when we are ready, you’ll be the first to know! Stay tuned for our adventures, awakenings, food comas, mishaps, and everything real that comes with changing your entire life in a matter of months. My goal is to inspire and help others to seek happiness over things, ask lots of questions and to never let fear of the unknown hold you back. Stay well out there, darlings. xo
Curious to see where this adventure takes us? Check out my Patreon Page for more! https://www.patreon.com/TravelForDarlings
