Around a year ago, I dropped our house keys off at the estate agent and thought.. what the hell are we doing!! We had sold our home that we loved living in for 6 years. All to live… in a van?! The logical side of me was screaming! But the adventurous side of me was in the drivers seat.

So as me and George anxiously drove to a spot near the canal in Rochdale, we sat and waited for the money from our house sale to go through. When it did, it was only then we could let out a huge sigh of relief. The months of selling and donating all the things we had accumulated in our lives was condensed into a Fiat Ducato. You couldn’t wipe the smiles of our faces. We felt free.

It is common to hear that people find themselves when they travel and I am happy to adhere to the cliche. Getting out of the monotony of my 9-5 job to live every day not knowing what will happen has definitely meant there have been some highs and lows, but the amount I have learnt about myself along the way has been insane. I also think it has made mine and Georges relationship the strongest it has ever been. And Bruce loves having a different garden everyday!

So since I am someone who loves a good list as well as reflecting on life, here are the lessons I have learnt from my first year on the road.

• I will judge people if I feel either self-conscious or intimidated
• Quality time with friends and family is the best
• The power of being present
• I love learning
• Not to judge a place from the first impressions I have
• I have a lot of hobbies
• Surfing is HARD (but that is also why it feels so euphoric to catch a wave)
• There is kindness everywhere
• It’s quite overwhelming how many people live on this world
• It can be really hard to be a vegan when you see so many pig farms in Spain
• Dogs are amazing at healing
• It’s still ok to be sad sometimes when you are ‘living the dream’
• Trusting in positive outcomes is a hell of a lot better than thinking negatively
• How to be myself no matter who I meet (still working on it but I’m getting there!)
• Magic happens when you leave your comfort zone

What a year! I am so happy and grateful we finally took the plunge to sell our house. Both George and I knew it was the right thing deep down but boy was it hard.

Thank you vanlife. 💖