I think I can speak for most of us when I say that there have been moments while we sit in our cubicles and listen to Karen from Accounting blab on about her paleo diet that we drift off and dream of a different life. A life where we are unshackled by the restraints of habit, thirsting for experience and energized by the unknown. A quote from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist often creeps into my head when I contemplate the limiting nature of habit: “When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”
More often then not, we bury these whimsical thoughts with perceived roadblocks–whether real or imagined–and confide in the belief that things will change for us without making a concerted effort to change them ourselves. But, the combination of time and complacency could eventually become an unbeatable force and in worst case, we’re upgraded to a slightly bigger cube listening to a slightly bigger Karen from Accounting blab on about another diet that doesn’t work.
Now, this story of a 23-year-old art director who quit his job, transformed a van into a home on wheels, and set out for the West is an extreme tale of breaking the shackles, but if it achieves anything for the angsty cubicle monkey, it’s realizing that nothing is final. Change is possible, however small.
His name is Zack Both. He is a Boston native who was unfulfilled with his 9-5 job as an art director for a 3D printing start-up and felt his dream of becoming a filmmaker was slowly slipping through his fingers.
So, as the New York Times reports, Both bought a white 2003 Chevrolet Express van with 200,000 miles for $3,900 and, with the help of his father, transformed it into a functional home on wheels. His mission: to create “a cool creative roadshow” by traveling the country and collaborating with local artists on short films.
Before:
After:
Per The Times,
He used 19th-century lath boards that he got free from Craigslist to sheath the interior in wood, built a futon that folds down into a bed, installed a stove used on boats and wired an ARB refrigerator to run on a Goal Zero solar generator.
Speaking to Mashable, Zach offered some advice for potential dreamers-turned-doers.
“My biggest advice is make sure you can handle all the aspects of living a mobile lifestyle—not just the inspiring, care-free lifestyle that’s presented in pretty photos on Instagram,” he said.
It hasn’t come without its trials and tribulations:
“In reality, constantly being a stranger to the environment and the people around you can become exhausting and at times unsatisfying,” he said. “That was a lesson I learned that seems obvious now, but I was oblivious and naive to at the very beginning.”
Despite the pitfalls of embarking on a journey alone, Zach has been able to experience things he could never have dreamed of if he didn’t take the plunge.
“The night before Christmas Eve I drove a young woman two hours up to her parent’s house after her car had slid off the highway,” he said. “Her parents were so appreciative they invited me to spend Christmas with them… and I did! I spent Christmas day learning to make tamales and sharing stories with this wonderfully large family.”
Best of luck to Zach as he continues down the path less traveled. It looks to have its benefits.
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[h/t New York Times, Mashable]