3 years as a nomad
July 2, 2023
What started as an experiment became a full-time job and an alternative way of living that I was unaware existed (or was possible to create). It has been three years of learning about places, people, ways of living, photography, art in general, and much more.
But most of all, it has been three years of intensive learning about myself.
The last time I had an apartment or place to call home was in June 2020. The thought of settling has crossed my mind many times since it all started, but it is also quickly accompanied by a sense that this chapter is not entirely over yet and that there are still a few things to explore before choosing a base to reside longer.
Looking back, I understand I have always sought constant change and transformation. However, during the past years, things have intensified.
Interestingly enough, before this adventure began in mid-2020, I had never stayed longer than two years in the same position or company (in the "traditional" working system). This has been my record - my own business… or can I even call it a business? It has simply become life. Without a clear division between work and "private life". The income comes from lived experiences, observing and documenting, and translating ideas in various forms.
I confess I still somewhat struggle to finance this creative lifestyle sustainably. The dilemma of where to invest the energy strikes often- should I take an (at least part-time) job and work for someone else or give 100% of what I have to things I believe in and that might bring a yield only at a later stage, without the security of it coming at all.
Should I go the safe way or the daring way? - questions that reside. But somehow, choosing the unknown seems to have been working out, and that has been three years already... opportunities of where to live, work, and connections with humans from all backgrounds - enriching the experience further and constantly opening new (sometimes unexpected) doors.
3,5 years ago (before I started living it myself), I started to read and learn about alternative lifestyles and nomads across various countries; it was hard to imagine how such a lifestyle would look or feel. The imagination sees it as a general dream but not going into much depth into it. Perhaps better like this. When looking at Instagram and promotional content about the "dream life", it is not as easy as one would think.
It is a never-ending transformation route. You learn things about yourself that you did not yet know. You find yourself worrying about things that, in reality, you cannot control. It becomes an art to master - to let go, to live life each time fully and understand that everything will be alright in the end - it has always been so.
Insecurities often strike; it is part of the process. One can only fully comprehend this type of experience in life when immersed in it. It is a foreign concept and hard to explain to someone who hasn't yet lived in one way or another.
Sometimes it is scary, and sometimes my mental and physical health suffers from it, but the return of it is immeasurable. A feeling of freedom, of understanding that we have the power to create our own lives and that our daydreams are not as impossible as we sometimes think they might be.
You start understanding Disney movies, relating to music lyrics, and connecting to art entirely differently. It is as if someone opened your eyes to a vast world unknown before.
Some insecurities may prevail for a little longer, others will transform, and some may vanish altogether. I will continue diving into unknown worlds (externally and internally) and learning about others and myself - I see it as a never-ending metamorphosis.
It can be painful at times, feel lonely in others, and tears occasionally drop-down (sometimes in drops, sometimes in waterfalls), but so does a genuine sense of complete freedom, of happiness beyond measure, of seeing the beauties that life offers - a feeling of wholeness, curiosity and exploration - one that I will continue to carry with me wherever I go.