Chapter 29: Finally Enjoying My Freedom

Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash

I have been living in my car for four months as of Wednesday of this week. It doesn’t seem like that long, but at the same time, it feels like I’ve always lived in my car. The past four months have been a series of learning, mistakes, and suffering with little moments of beauty and freedom. I feel it’s time to start focusing on those free and beautiful moments more than surviving each day.

The biggest draw of car living is that you have control over your most precious resource: time. My time is not owned by a boss or a landlord anymore. It’s mine to pursue the things I’ve never had the time or energy to pursue. So far, I’ve been using my time to create routines and systems to cement my survival. I’m currently comfortable with what I’ve worked on and I feel like I’m ready to take the next steps.

My first goal is financial. I’ve been using every cent I’ve been earning to set myself up for success when it comes to fulfilling my basic needs. Right now, I feel like I’ve got a decent setup and have found as much comfort as one can sleeping and living in a Chevy Cobalt. Now, it’s time to start saving money to pay for maintenance and for the things I need to accomplish my goals.

I need to get my car fixed. My home and my tool to make money needs some serious TLC. I know the repairs will cost a pretty penny, but I need to invest in them so I can continue living. I’m not sure I can earn enough money in time, so I’m contemplating starting a GoFundMe to raise some funds for the repairs.

My other goal is getting my passport. It’s not too expensive, but it does cost about a week’s earnings. Applying and getting a passport is around $165, but I want to expedite the delivery, so it’ll cost $30 more. I’m not trusting our current government to continue making it easy to get one, so I want one as soon as I can get it.

My second goal is to focus on creating things. I want to paint more often. I’ve been thinking of ways to paint within my current situation. I’m good at adapting, so finding ways to get it done won’t be hard to find. I also want to start a podcast about car living. Recording in my car is kind of out, because oftentimes I have lots of noise around me and that wouldn’t be good for the audio quality.

The four month anniversary of me getting evicted and having to live in my car will also be the anniversary where I finally take full advantage of my situation and start to enjoy my time rather than being stuck in survival mode. Hopefully, I will be able to find ways to create things and get them out so people can see and listen to them. And I’ll take my first step towards getting out of the country.