So this is my story about being jobless and eventually homeless and living out of my car this year (there’s a happy ending to all this, I promise). 

At the end of March when all the lockdowns were starting I had my contract terminated at my day job due to budget cuts. While you probably know me for my photography, I am an engineer in my adult life. Dead in the water of covid protocols I spent the month of April and half of May drinking and playing Animal Crossing. 

In the months after that I applied to dozens of jobs. I interviewed for a few and was even a finalist for several but just couldn’t nail one down. Luckily camping and backpacking were covid friendly activities. I made some trips to Badlands, Grand Teton, and the Colorado wilderness. The temporary escape was nice but it was temporary, and just that, an escape.

Summer adventure highlights that helped keep me sane

Then came September and my apartment lease ended. With no job lined up, I now had to move out of my apartment. I made a tough decision to move my bigger items to a storage unit and try something. 

I decided that I was going to try living on the road full time. It’s something I had thought of doing before, but like in a camper van/motorhome and with some sort of income. Not in a Honda Civic, without any major income, and during a global pandemic. 

From September to November you might’ve seen some of my photos, but I never mentioned the circumstances. I didn’t want people worrying, especially since for the most part I was fine. Most of my national park adventures have involved some form of road life so I felt prepared.

Some days were amazing. I hiked the fall colors in Wyoming searching for bears. I watched rare island foxes steal food at the campsite. I hiked the forests in the Olympic peninsula to find the wreckage of an old crashed World War II plane (and then startled a mountain lion on the hike back). I lived in Death Valley National Park for five days chasing sunrises to the thunder of military planes in the distance. I could go wherever* I wanted and whenever. 

*well, within reason. I avoided people as much as possible. Easy enough when camping.

Some days were dreaded with anxiety. Checking my bank account and realizing I was spending just a little too much. Wondering when I’d actually have a job again. Wondering why it was so hard to find a job. Not to mention the frightful thought of what would happen if I caught Covid and had to wait it out while camping?

Of course I could always stay with my dad in Michigan. My savings account was solid, just not something I wanted to dip into. But I’m also very stubborn and was determined to make it through this on my own. There was also a challenge to it I admired – real world problem solving with real world consequences really test your abilities and confidence. If I could handle this, I could handle anything.

I was starting to gain more appreciation for simpler things. Watching the sunrise. Cooking a meal. Even just sitting quietly by a river. I was staring at fewer screens and stimulating my brain less. With how much I lost I really felt like I was appreciating the little things I had. 

Eventually it was November and I was camping in a forest. That night it just got too uncomfortably cold. I woke up tired and realized it would just be this for the foreseeable future and I decided to come back home to Michigan for the holidays. My dad had just retired so it would be nice to see him to celebrate. 

My mood has felt so much better compared to the last time I was home. At this point I’m just thankful to have a place to stay, even if I had to drive back across the country to get there. It took losing everything I wanted to appreciate everything I had and that’s a tough life lesson I’m glad I learned. 

The end of this story is that after 8 months of being unemployed I was just offered a kick-ass job near Denver a couple days ago. Things are about to start feeling somewhat normal again but this time I don’t want to take any of the little things for granted. 

I couldn’t be more thankful to be in this spot. And anyone who has helped me over the last few months, I cannot possibly thank you enough.