It took me five slow days to drive from Denver back to Atlanta. Five quiet days behind the wheel, watching the miles roll by, and somewhere in the high plains of Kansas it hit me: this trip back will mark very close to four years since I left this same city in my van with almost nothing in the back.
Four years on the road.
And I have returned as a completely different person from the one who pulled out of that driveway in 2021.
These are some of the things the road taught me — lessons I could never have learned sitting in an office.
I learned to live with fear instead of running from it. Fear used to stop me cold — from growing, from exploring, from trying.
I learned that a happy, peaceful life doesn’t require much — actually far less than I ever imagined. The less I own, the freer I feel.
I learned to live inside the dream while it was still being built: how to invest, how to work with partners, how to stay unnaturally patient with the process, with fear, with conflict, with the long stretches when nothing seemed to happen.
I learned to stare straight at the possibility of losing everything — bankruptcy, failure, starting over at zero — and still keep a clear head.
I learned what love actually feels like. Not the version that tries to fix or improve someone, but the kind that lets people be exactly as they are, even when their way of living doesn’t match my picture of “perfect” or “good.” I caught at least a glimpse of real love, and I know now that it’s possible.
I learned that happiness isn’t something I have to chase or earn — it’s already in me, in every situation. I just have to turn my attention toward it. Some of the fullest moments of my life have been doing absolutely nothing in the van with my dog and my partner: watching my dog sleep, listening to his breathe, feeling the quiet weight of two beings I love in a 60-square-foot box on wheels. That is the kind of moment what life is for.
I learned that true friendship is one of the greatest blessings on earth. On the road I made friends I never would have met in my old 9-to-5 life, and I got to live beside some of them for weeks or months at a time — learning from them in ways that only shared daily life allows. Time is the most precious thing I have, and I now understand that choosing my path wisely is one of the most important decisions I’ll ever make.
In the end, everything circles back to almost nothing.
I drove tens of thousands of miles, crossed deserts and mountains, just to come back and learn how to be happy with myself.
But for me, every mile was necessary.
