People have such varied ideas about vanlife. Some give the impression that we’re all driving around searching for the perfect nature photo opportunity, that we do 100,000km a year, and that we’re all social butterflies flowing effortlessly into new situations with grace and ease. I think there are definitely people out there who do that. It’s just not us. One of the things I promised myself I’d do with this account and the OUTSIDER blog was to honestly reflect the long, slow metamorphosis from settled life to a minimalist, transient one. When I post about metal health, or my age etc.. I lose followers. But I didn’t set this account up to get a million followers, I wanted a way to publicly document this journeying and to connect with like-minded people. I used to get frustrated when I’d read books, essays or blogs by travellers only to discover that they still own a house and just put all their belongings into storage for a year to write about the ‘minimalist vanlife experience’ in some guise or other. I felt that negated the very real and visceral evolution we’ve given up everything else to have. I would feel angry at the impossibly overwhelming privilege that would allow someone to put their London home up for rent, still afford to buy a van, travel (with all their possessions in storage), and have a book deal at the end of it. It just felt so fucking inauthentic I wanted to scream. Nearly three years in, I’ve mellowed a lot. It’s not a competition. Whatever my experience, it is not negated or lessened by someone else’s different approach to this lifestyle. We’re all just trying to make our way, day by day, wading through the quagmire that is our-own-and-everybody-else’s-egos. I also had to recognise that while I rage at the privilege of others, I forget my own. I am here, in this beautiful place, living my dream life regardless. And I realised that fiction is my love, not memoire, and my novel is being born of that. Life continues to make glorious circles and I’m just learning how to sit back and enjoy the ride a little more. Anyway, here’s a photo of sunlight on my breakfast, just because it was a beautiful moment. #vanlife #liveauthentic #alternativeliving
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