10 Thing I Love About Sheila (and Van Life in General)

Hey from Hurricane, Utah. So a lot (if not all) of my blog entries up to this point have been about doing things wrong- about mistakes I’ve made, guys I’ve left, or embarrassing moments I’ve had. Which of course isn’t going to change- there is nothing I love more than screwing up. But sometimes even I need a change of pace- so instead of an unfortunate story about me flashing some guy in a Walmart parking lot or going on a series of bad dates, this time I’ll be writing about the reasons why I am willing to embarrass myself in the first place. So here they are- the top ten things I love about living with Sheila (and I guess about the rest of van life, too). 

Reason #1: Chasing the Warm Weather

“But didn’t you grow up in Maine?” Yes, I did. And the amount of times I’ve been asked that question in response to my constant shivering at temperatures below 60 degrees can only be equated to the amount of times the sun has risen. But truthfully, I am a terrible Mainer. I don’t belong in the cold weather- my percentage of body fat and aversion to snow pants do not mix well with the New England lifestyle. But now, I can follow the sun- I can live in perfect weather year-round as long as I’m willing to drive far enough. 

Reason #2: Hiking, Of Course

I love to be outdoors. And I can honestly say that I love nothing more in life than a good, long hike. And yes, that includes everything you all just pictured that you probably love more- puppies, good wine, beautiful sunsets… I can’t stand wine, I can see the sunset from the top of a mountain much better than I can anywhere else, and as for puppies- well, that’s a close one. Living in my van allows me to hike almost every single day if I want to. Bad weather? Just keep driving. Getting too cold? Keep driving. Not near a mountain? Definitely keep driving. And it allows me to hike in places I’ve never been. Instead of going to the same mountains every time I want to get outside, I can quite literally hike somewhere different every time, in the most beautiful places in the country. Van life is my ticket to being able to do what I love every single day- and really, what more can you ask for? 

Reason #3: Quiet Mornings 

Lately I’ve been rethinking this one as I’ve woken up to 25-degree temperatures in the tank top I went to bed in the night before because I told myself when I left home that “if it’s too cold to wear summer clothes, I won’t be there.” But even as I chug my morning coffee in the three minutes I have before it turns into a caffeinated popsicle, I still can’t imagine a more peaceful way to start every morning. Sitting with my Christmas lights on, wrapped up like a human burrito drinking my coffee and watching the very first hint of light start to ease its way into the morning sky, feeling the world around me start to slowly and peacefully come to life, entirely unaffected by the stresses or pressures that we humans have become so accustomed to, the thought of ever starting my day any differently is unfathomable. Yikes, that was deep. But in short, these moments give me the sense of quiet joy that I believe we all desperately seek, whether we know it or not.

Reason #4: Long, Solo Road Trips

Some of you might be cringing at the thought of driving for days on end with nothing but your own company. I definitely was. Before I bought Sheila, I had never driven more than a couple of hours by myself, and I certainly didn’t have the desire to- I thought that was a part of van life that I would have to just “get through,” a means to an end. But after a few days of long miles, too many cups of coffee, hours of music and podcasts and one-woman concerts and quiet that sometimes lasted much longer than I intended it to, of beautiful scenery as I watched the country change from cornfields to desert to mountains and everything in between, somewhere in the middle of nowhere I fell in love with driving. I was alone with my thoughts, I could think about anything or absolutely nothing, I could sing at the top of my lungs and no one would hear me (I hope), I could eat as many packets of fruit gummies as I wanted and no one could judge me- while it’s true that not everyone will appreciate these simple pleasures as much as I do, I find it hard to believe that you can’t at least see the beauty that us loners find in these solitary moments. 

Reason #5: Living with Only the Essentials

I’ll admit it- moving from an apartment into the van was a challenge at first. It forced me to decide which of my personal belongings I considered essential, and which items I could do without. Needless to say, most of the storage in my van is filled with clothes and shoes- I even brought a couple cocktail dresses. Where exactly was I planning on going to a cocktail party? I have no idea. But a girl needs to be prepared- you never know when a fellow homeless person could invite you to an incredibly fancy homeless-person shindig. I can’t be caught without anything to wear. But despite my abundance of high-waisted jeans and shortage of really everything else, moving into the van forced me to simplify my life in ways that I never thought I could. It has made me ask questions like “do I really need to shower every day?” Or “do I really need two pairs of sneakers?” Or “how important is electricity, really?” And as it turns out, the answers are… no, no, and not very. And this is coming form a girl who never left the house without makeup on before van life- living out of a vehicle has helped me figure out which things in life are truly important, and which are simply material. 

Reason #6: Nights in the Camp Chair

How many of you would agree that sitting in a camp chair automatically makes anything you are doing twice as awesome? Ok, honestly me neither. But I do love quiet nights with a fire crackling, sitting in my 5-dollar camp chair with a cheap beer in the mesh cupholder, looking up at the stars and listening to Shaky Graves over my bluetooth speaker. When I get to a campsite, the first thing I do is throw open the doors, grab my camp chair out of the back and set it up next to the fire pit. And this is where I sit until my skinny butt gets too cold or the fire burns out. And sitting in this spot I’ve smiled harder than I ever thought I could with my ass stuck to green synthetic fabric. But something about looking out at the world form this particular vantage point makes everything seem a little better (although it could just be the beer). 

Reason #7: The People I’ve Met

While I’m still shocked that I’ve had any social interaction whatsoever since I started van life, and while honestly I haven’t had much, the people I have met are the kind of people I can see myself forming lifelong friendships with. I’ve never been very outgoing, and it’s extremely difficult for me to genuinely “vibe” with people. I’ve always just chalked it up to being antisocial. But lately, those I’ve encountered have made me rethink this assumption. In part, I believe my problem has been that I haven’t met anyone who I have a lot in common with. But since I’ve been living in the van, the people I have met seem to mostly, if not exclusively, share the same interests. They have also been down to earth, easygoing, extremely friendly, and we seem to connect on a deeper level than just “wow I love your hair,” or “cute shoes.” So lately, it seems that maybe I’m not as antisocial as I once thought I was- maybe I’ve just been socializing in the wrong places. But don’t worry- Sheila and I are still a van-life crew of one.

Reason #8: Camping with no Cell Service

The only other place I get to completely shut off from the world is at sea, and I’ve always loved those days when I can totally relinquish all control over what’s going on outside of my immediate reach. And van life has given me that same feeling- sitting in the middle of nowhere, Christmas lights and candles turning my bed into a little blanket-fort in the middle of the pitch-black woods or desert, reading a book or playing the one half of a song I can poorly attempt on my guitar or listening to good music, it makes me feel as if nothing and no one can touch me, and I’ve never slept better than on these nights in the back of my van. 

Reason #9: Time to Reflect

If you have read my other posts, then you know that I am way too poor to afford real food, let alone a good therapist. So instead, I work though things by thinking a lot, and by writing. And lately, I’ve felt more in tune with my own mind than I ever have before- a fact that I attribute solely to how much time I get to spend alone. So many people are scared to be alone, for whatever reason- they get bored, they worry about something happening to them, or they are just afraid to get to know themselves without the distraction of someone else to keep them from truly looking inward. But being alone is so powerful. It teaches you (or at least it has taught me) to accept yourself for who you are, to recognize your weaknesses and the things that you are afraid of, and to be able to face those things head-on in spite of your fear. Knowing yourself is a powerful tool- and I believe that it is the first step to loving yourself. I may not feel this way as often as I wish I did, but I know I am on my way there, and a huge part of that is spending time alone. 

Reason #10: Pepperoni Tacos

Who knew that pepperoni, bbq sauce and bread could be so damn good.

Obviously some of these reasons are jokes, while some of them are a little more on the serious side. But all in all, van life has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. A strong statement, but its true- It has taught me so much about myself, and has given me everything I’ve been looking for out of life- and some things I didn’t even know I wanted. But most of all, it has taught me what I need in order to be truly happy- and I don’t know what more I could ask for. So now that I’ve hit my quota of seriousness for the year, Sheila and I are off to keep screwing up somewhere a little warmer.. see you in Arizona!

“If there’s even a slight chance at getting something that will make you happy, risk it. Life’s too short, and happiness is too rare.” -A.R. Lucas