I’m traveling in a van across the country, and it all started as a dream years ago to do something radically different. I had a yearning for something beyond the rut I was in.
But what I actually found was so much different from what I expected. You see stories about how exploration and adventure can bring a couple closer together. Rekindling the romance through shared experiences, triumphs and tribulations.
As I slept in truck stops and campsites, worked out of public libraries, and pumped innumerable gallons of gas — I was also rediscovering a relationship. With myself.
Every cold morning that I didn’t want to get out of my sleeping bag helped me appreciate my own company after a long, dark evening alone with my thoughts.
I’ve spent the last several years living with other people — first a now-ex partner then roommates then my family. Now I am physically alone, and it has been a revelation. No one else around to distract me from myself and my own thoughts.
I’ve gotten lost, driving down dark roads at night with no sign of my destination. I’ve had to take the van to a new garage in a strange city after the check engine light came on. I’ve sat in traffic stopped so long that we were out of our cars on the highway to stretch our legs wondering if this was my next campsite.
I’ve gained a greater appreciation for my own ability to handle adversity.
My practical nature for problem-solving has resurfaced after long years of looking to others for guidance out of self-doubt.
I am charting a new course in an uncertain world, and it only makes me love myself more.
Sometimes things go well and sometimes they don’t, but I am always here for me.
For the first time in a long time, I am excited about the future. Inspiration and motivation are pounding in my brain, and it seems like I can’t possibly get it all done. But I want to try.
I’m voluntarily turning my phone onto airplane mode. My evenings are spent mostly working on ideas and brainstorming instead of scrolling social media, feeding my addiction.
I don’t know how long I am going to live this life, but that’s okay. My love affair with myself isn’t dependent on place and time. But this journey has helped me rekindle the spark. I’m a pretty okay person with hopes and dreams and the determination to reach them.
I’m in a love affair with myself, and it feels amazing.
Does this reflect your life as well or make you think? Comment below!
