Life has a tendency to take us right where we need to be when we least expect it. I found this organization on a whim. While scrolling through Youtube and researching van build videos for my aunt. (She’s currently on her own van build journey.) And I couldn’t believe how strangely kismet it was.
In today's day and age, I think we all have the desire to breathe free. To escape from a society that wants to pull us further and further away from the natural world is an almost spiritual wish.
How do we reconnect? With people, with places, with ourselves?
I moved back to the Northwoods, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, back in 2019 from Los Angeles, California. Back then I was working as an actor and having the time of my life. Then the pandemic happened and everything changed. I dealt with a lot of different neurological problems that changed the trajectory of my future.
Then a few years later I had a major accident in my beautiful white 2017 Volkswagen Beetle. Her name was Athena. She saved my life from a driver going the wrong way.
After that, I told everybody to buy a Volkswagen. “Five star safety rating baby!”
I know it's crazy to love a car so much, but I really did! She was my Autobot.
That was the conclusion of 2022. A few years have passed since then and my health's improved. I work every day to strengthen my body and my mind. It takes time and it takes patience with yourself. Anyone who's gone through chronic illnesses or traumatic experiences, will be able to tell you that. But human beings, we’re tough. A lot tougher than we think.
So this year, I started my business! It gives me the time and flexibility to live life on my terms. But I still have dreams of returning back to L.A. and getting back to acting and being able to build my business at the same time. I wanna travel the country, sell my products, and finally, feel free of the burdens which have kept me silently in place for so long. Too long.
Then I saw Mango. Which made me laugh so hard, because my current car is a Jeep named Cherry!
I know the odds are slim, but if I don't win, it's still for a good cause. That's what makes me smile!
However, if I do win, what a crazy, insane turn of events that could not only change my life, but be the strange twist of fate that sews these stories together seamlessly.