In 2014, Rebecca and her partner John left her lifelong home of Oakland, California in search of a better life. Their journey will take them to the Catskills in New York State, and eventually onto a converted school bus in which they will travel America.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Not The Adventure I Expected

When I started this journey to the East Coast I had high hopes for what would end up happening. We were supposed to end up in an RV-converted bus with which we and our two cats and my online business ventures would travel the US. The idea was that by this time this year we would be heading down the coast just in time for winter.

That did not end up being the direction life took us. Instead we ended up with a lot of bizarre roadblocks, problems and tests, which took various forms. My partner ended up indefinitely delayed in getting his license, which meant getting his license for driving a bus would end up even further off. Meanwhile, on top of my adjustment reaction I was diagnosed with a severe vitamin deficiency. I worked to correct that, while meanwhile keeping up a regimen of walking and writing and trying to improve my relationship with my partner.

I could say a lot of negative things about my experiences in the intervening months, but that is not productive. In the end, what is more important is what I did manage to accomplish while battering my head against the various roadblocks in front of us. I am now making a small but steady living ghostwriting and editing through a website that connects freelancers and clients. I have one co-written novel submitted and two others published. My physical and mental health have both improved, with a lot of work, and my housing situation is very likely to be changing for the better soon.

It was never my intention to settle in New York State. It isn't actually my intention to settle here forever now. But the opportunities that have come up here for me give me reasons to stay for at least a few years. And by then, who knows? Perhaps the licensing issue will be overcome. Perhaps the bus will be in mid-build. Perhaps we will have decided on another way to travel.

The adventure hasn't ended. It has just changed a little.