Journey

The only way to start improving my videos, public speaking, self-confidence and so on – is to just do it.. churn out the videos and improve on-the-fly. I created a list of potential topics and questions for those that love the van-life to talk about on the Van-Life Video Challenge page, and this is video #01 of me attempting to practice what I preach… or rather… I really want others to answer those questions so I guess I hope to inspire others who are just as awkward and nervous as I am to gain some courage and break through personal barriers and fears.

In this video, I answer the first two questions from the challenge:

Introduce yourself – where are you at currently with getting van / living in van, where you are located (which country/state, etc), your intentions

My name is Penny – I bought my van a few months ago – a Holden Commodore Ex-Ambulance Ute. I currently live in Melbourne, Victoria Australia and want to move to Queensland, which is about 21 hours drive away. I want to do that mostly for health and spirituality reasons. I have completely turned my health and life around over the past couple of years and I feel that Queensland will help inspire and take me to the next level. It’s a warmer climate, has a lot of health hubs, self-sustainability, permaculture, yoga, meditation, organic food, clean water, ocean, forests, and modern amenities. Because it’s hotter than where I am, I feel like I will be able to remove some more toxic lifestyle choices that I am currently involved in and feel that if I surround myself with more people that resonate with where I currently am, I can learn more about what I need to do to improve my cellular health even further. A couple of years ago I was dying and now although I feel healthy, I keep wanting to improve and grow and learn more. So I feel the warmer weather will inspire me to drink more fresh juices and green smoothies and salads instead of being tempted by heavy hot meals, coffee and so on. 

Who are you and what are you passionate about?

I’ve just turned 39 years old. I’m passionate about natural healing and optimal living, and I’m inspired by people who live the van life because I see it as a freedom lifestyle. A way to rid of the stuff that holds us back. I always thought that by now I would’ve travelled the world, but for most of my life, I’ve been stuck by stuff. Having a house full of possessions meant I couldn’t just up and leave whenever I wanted to. This van lifestyle is a freedom lifestyle for me. A way to downsize my possessions whilst keeping the things that I need, and being able to travel wherever I want to. I do have a lot of debt, although I’ve paid off most of it and no longer have a credit card. I did purchase the van on finance so once that is paid off – which I intend to do much faster than the loan I took out – I personally will feel free.

See Van Life Video Challenge here