I seem to be at my happiest when I have plans to make and plots to plot.
And now I am plotting my next life adventure.
Over the holidays, I was thinking about how bored I am, how I’m sick of Columbus, and how depressing it was that I didn’t know what to do next with my life. Then I had an idea that quickly blossomed and became action.
Over the next few months, I am going to cull my belongings, pack up the rest, and, when my lease is up at the end of May, depart this city and live a nomadic life for a while.
I don’t know how long I’ll be traveling, but at least the summer, and possibly for the whole second half of 2014. My stepdad—technically ex-stepdad now, but eff it, he’s still family to me—is letting me store boxes and furniture at his place and/or business. It will mostly be my books and kitchen equipment (me in a nutshell).
It’s exciting, and more than a little insane, but I am very much looking forward to it.
(Especially now that there is a leak in my bedroom ceiling and I am realizing more than ever how much I’m overpaying for this place.)
Part of me wonders if I am jumping into it without enough prayer and thought, but it makes less sense not to do this, and I feel more trapped by the idea of staying. I have no “significant other,” I don’t own a house, I don’t have school, I telecommute and therefore I can work from anywhere as long as I have a computer and wi-fi, I’m not emotionally attached to most of my furniture and can get rid of it without a qualm. My stepdad is 100% behind this and willing to let me not only store stuff in his basement, but crash at his house in-between adventures (as a “home base,” he calls it). I’m not looking forward to the small, nit-picky details of moving, like changing addresses, but it is a small price to pay.
Obviously, I’m not leaping into all of this without a plan. I can’t, or else I’d burn out almost immediately. I still must budget for food and travel expenses and entertainment and hotel stays. If I am to maintain my current employment status and make the money to support this lifestyle, I will have to budget my time to meet work deadlines. And, of course, I must have fun.
And what have I chosen for the first phase of my adventures?
**Drum roll**
. . .
Yes. I am going to fulfill my history-geek dream since age 12, and road-trip across the country in an approximation of the Oregon Trail. It has to be an approximation because there is no road that covers exactly the same route that the wagons took back in the mid-1800s. Basically I mean to hit all of the highlights of the journey, the most famous milestones, the most breathtaking sights, and any related museums along the way. I’ve already plotted out a rough route to drive, but have yet to determine how long it will take—accounting for both sightseeing and working, of course.
Once I’m out there in Oregon City (or Portland, really), I plan to hop up to Seattle to visit Kara. After that, I suppose I’ll have to take the long trip back eastward, though preferably a different route. I haven’t gotten that far in planning yet, but I’m thinking about driving down the west coast and then cutting across the south. After that, I have no idea. (Well, a few…)
So that’s it: my first big announcement/plan/event for 2014. By the way, I’m open to travel suggestions. And I will certainly be blogging it all.
Emily Jacobs: Freelance Writer 
Go for it! I look forward to reading your posts about it.
Yay!!!!
Were quite similar. My plan is to live in and travel in Poland next month. I’ll be writing my script whilst im there. I love the idea of travelling alone, no rules, if I want to stay in great, if I want to hop on the next train to Warsaw I can without consulting anyone else.