january 10, 2011 // the plan

I'm taking one month - that's it - to do something that I've wanted to do for years. Since middle school, I've had this dream of writing and illustrating a children's book. I've come up with idea after idea in my mind, but I've never put any of them down on paper. That's about to change. I have a goal of writing, illustrating and (hopefully) publishing a children's book by the time I'm 25. Well, here I am.. a little over a week into my 25th year.. it's time to get this ball rolling. I'm going to give myself a thirty day challenge. I'll be driving up to Montana (where my good friend Sarah lives) to work on the book. Why? Well.. why not? I originally wanted to take my trailer up there with me to sleep in, but snow is preventing that from happening. I have no heat, and I'll end up a children's-book-writing-sicle if I do that. Instead, I'll be renting a room and spending most of my days at local coffee shops. There's something powerful about deadlines.. especially for a procrastinator such as myself. I have the story for my book all plotted out in my mind.. now it's just a matter of getting it out of my head and into the world. Here's my route:

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I don't know what it is, but something is spurring me on to go do this thing. A lot of it probably has to do with all of the awesome inspiration I've digested from my time with Roadtrip Nation. How could I not pursue my dreams when I've heard interviews like these?!

Also, I'm kind of crazy about this interview: RTN Interviews Christian Jacobs.. but I can't figure out how to embed it on my blog! It's definitely worth the watch. Christian Jacobs is AWESOME.. he might be my next "Neckache of the Month"!

..and.. oh my YES... if nothing else, please, please, please watch this interview with sneaker artist, Van Taylor Monroe. I get goosebumps every time that I watch it.. Uh! So good!

Besides loving everyone that works at Roadtrip Nation, I love all that being a part of the movement has taught me. There are millions of people in this world who aren't doing something with their life that they enjoy. Of course, we all need money to survive.. and sometimes that means doing things that we don't love in order to pay the bill.. but there are also millions of people who are pursing their passions in life. I think the difference between the two groups is a matter of being brave enough to try to do that thing that makes you.. you. Sometimes following a dream means putting it all on the line.. maybe surviving on peanut butter and jelly for a while in order to get that thing.. that gift that only you can give to the world.. out there.

I'm out of work right now. I'll be dipping into my savings in order to make this thing happen.. but if I never do it, I'll always wonder, you know? Getting a book published seems like a long shot from where I'm standing right now, but I'm hopeful. The unexpected happens. People who paint sneakers get in the Wall Street Journal.. and then The Smithsonian (I'm telling you.. watch that Van Taylor Monroe interview!) I've always loved art and storytelling. That picture up there? That's me (as you probably guessed).. happy as a clam with a paintbrush in hand. I totally believe that we know from a young age what we love, but somehow some of us lose that along the way. All the noise gets in the way and we buy into the lie that in order to be successful we must do this or be that. I'm going to put it all out there.. I'm going to be purely myself and see what happens. Here we go!

11.13.10 // LIFE AS A ROADIE

It took me a while, but I have humbly come to the conclusion that I am not the best at blogging. I tend to blog, blog, blog for a while and then take long hiatuses from blogging. I like to think that it's because I get easily distracted (..I just spent five minutes staring at the window at a squirrel..) Whatever the reason, I apologize to anyone who actually takes the time to look at my blog. The very fact that you (whoever you may be.. if you do exist outside of my imagination) would take time out of your day to read this little blog makes me so happy.. and then so sad that I have let you down. Just so you know, I do have sort of a good excuse for not blogging over the past month or so.. I had very limited internet in my motor home/work space. With that said, here's a make up post for all those posts that I missed.. A collection of photos from my Roadie team's trip counterclockwise around the United States. We started in Costa Mesa, California and took the southern route all the way to Washington, D.C. From there we headed up North through Chicago and Montana over all the way to Seattle, WA. We're not stationed in San Francisco, CA.. making our way back South to arrive at our home office next week. It's been an amazing trip. I love being a Roadie.. enough to do the job twice! I love Roadtrip Nation and the message that they are sending to our generation - that you really can do what you love and what you are passionate about with your life. With that said, here's a collection of photos from the road. I tried to limit the photos to one per state that we stopped in, but I was unsuccessful with a few places (there are just so many wonderful things to see and photograph in each state!)

CALIFORNIA

Roadie launch party. That guy singing there.. that's Joey Sanders. He's my fellow Roadie on Jr. the RV. He's definitely going to be famous one day, so be on the lookout!

ARIZONA

We only drove through Arizona, but I could tell that the state was beautiful. We stopped to use the bathroom at this rest stop that had boulders all around it. We did a little climbing and picture taking.

NEW MEXICO
So beautiful! We checked out White Sands, NM. It was amazing. AMAZING! Jr. looked more green than usual against the snow white scenery.

TEXAS
Oh, Texas.. how I love you. Texas has so much to offer and so many hidden treasures. One of them is Marfa, TX. If you want to visit a place that is equal parts awesome and weird.. this is your place. Marfa, TX is home to a large community of artists (large meaning a population of about 2,000!) and The Marfa Mystery Lights. We went all over Marfa and Joey (being the excellent musician that he is) discovered some perfect acoustics on top of the town's courthouse.

From Marfa, we headed East toward Austin. Man, do I love that city. I could totally live there. It's got so much character and spunk.. not to mention, some of the best music festivals in the country.

We happened to be in Austin during Austin City Limits, one such fabulous music festival. A major part of what Roadtrip Nation does is give people the opportunity to interview people who love what they do. Our Roadie team's main focus was promoting Roadtrip on college campuses and recruiting future Roadtrippers. We also had the chance do a few interviews of our own on the trip. We attempted to set up an interview with Band of Horses, but the band was too busy to meet with us. Instead, we were told that we could sit in on their rehearsal, but we were turned down by the band's manager after we arrived at the KLRU studio. Luckily, we met an amazing intern who gave us an all access studio tour and hooked us up with free tickets to the band's performance for the Austin City Limits television show! It was incredible.

TENNESSEE
Tennessee is another one of those states with so many hidden treasures. I never thought much of Tennessee until I actually went to visit it. There is so much music history in Memphis and Nashville and as you head further East, the Smokey Mountains meet you with a beautiful "hello".

WASHINGTON, D.C.

NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK
Our team wasn't scheduled to head up to New York from Washington, D.C. but we had the opportunity to meet up with the other Roadie team who are currently traveling clockwise around the country so we decided to drive a few extra hours to see them!

PENNSYLVANIA

ILLINOIS
We went urban climbing in Chicago. I had never been to "The Windy City" before and seeing it at night from a rooftop was definitely worth sneaking into an apartment building to see!

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA
Montana is SO BEAUTIFUL! I love the snowy mountain tops and crisp air.. not to mention the flannel wearing boys that are everywhere! I also saw my best friend, Sarah, in Montana.. which was a highlight of my trip!

WASHINGTON

Oregon and Northern California photos are soon to come...

10.2.10 // ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Remember how I was telling you all about my time as a Roadie for Roadtrip Nation? Remember how much I loved doing that job? Funny thing.. I'M DOING IT AGAIN! Wow, do I feel so honored. Just about two weeks ago, I was asked to fill in as a Roadie for one of two Roadtrip Nation Roadie teams heading out for the Fall 2010 cross-country campus tour. It was so crazy the way it happened.. I was at a festive gathering at the house of one of the Roadies I traveled with a year and a half ago and it was the first night that I was meeting many of the new Roadies coming in for this tour. We all clicked instantly and I kept telling my past co-Roadie friend, Ray (who just so happens to be in charge of the Roadie program this year), how much I missed being a Roadie and how I much I'd love to be one again. I even said, "Ray, if any of the Roadies drop out for this tour.. I'm your lady!", but didn't expect the opportunity to go on the road again to come up so suddenly! It was only two days after that I got a call from Ray asking if I wanted to go out on tour again. I quit my waitressing job, ended my school photography job early and set out for an adventure! Roadtrip Nation recently put out a video talking about their story that I definitely feel is worth sharing with you here!

Here's a photo of all of the Roadies getting ready to hit the road!

We're heading out in two teams of four - each making a full loop around the country. The trippiest part of this whole experience (so far) is the fact that I'm traveling in the same RV that I traveled in for my last Roadie Tour. His name is Junior and he's quite handsome. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about RV life since ending my last tour and how much I've missed it. I love everything about being on the road. It's so amazing to watch America unfold on the road in front of you.. to see the landscape and people change from state to state. I also love spreading the Roadtrip Nation movement. I feel like I've never stopped being a Roadie from the time my first tour ended until now. I get so excited when I have the opportunity to talk about Roadtrip Nation and how important it is to get out of your comfort zone and discover how big the world really is. I get inspired every time I watch content on Roadtrip Nation's website.. just hearing about people who have followed their passions and found a way to survive by doing what they love gets me excited about life.

8.23.10 // HOW ODD

I've decided to switch gears a bit here at If I Haver. Instead of it being strictly a fashion blog, I will start to post more about adventurous happenings and the like. I have little to show the grand kids about my 24 years of life, so I'm hoping that chronicling it on the interweb will be a way to preserve it forever.. that is, if the data doesn't turn into a bazillion pieces of nothingness by the time I actually have grand kids.

Most of you (Hello.. anyone out there? I think there might be a whopping two of you!) don't know what it is exactly that I do for a living, so I'll tell you right now. I am an odd job enthusiast. What does that mean? Is that another way of saying I open pickle jars for the weak and walk dogs on weekends? The later might be true.. but the pickle jar thing is nonsense. Yes, I have a college degree. No, I don't hate money. The real definition of an odd job enthusiast is a person who does odd jobs make ends meet and to gain experience in light of the economic state of the country. Aren't you happy you asked?

I graduated a whole two years ago (gasp!) and in those two years I have had more jobs than Joan Rivers has had plastic surgery. I went to school for (get ready for a mouth full) Interactive Digital Design. That's really just a fancy name for graphic design. Looking back, I would have preferred going to a school solely dedicated to art, but that's why they say hindsight is 20/20.. right? After graduating, I got an internship with the creative services department of a big corporation. It really helped to polish the skill set that I had developed in college, but I can't begin to tell you how much the corporate mumbo-jumbo got to me. The people were awesome, but the office work environment just wasn't for me..

Prior to graduating from college, I started writing an article for my college newspaper. It was called (don't judge) "Real World: Graduation".. yes, yes very corny.. I had so many unanswered questions with graduation looming overhead, that I decided to put them into writing hoping that other students would relate. Most of close friends did, but I never got the booming response that I hoped for from the masses (I wanted students to write in questions that I would put into writing). What I did get out of writing for the paper was a burning desire to get my questions answered. That's when the adventure really started...

So, fast forward back to my internship. While interning with creative services, I still had all these questions brewing inside my brain and none of them had been answered by actually living in the "real world". Frustrated and tired (It's hard getting up at 7am every morning! College definitely didn't prepare me for that..), I vented about everything to my dad one night over Chinese food. There must have been something extra special in my Buddha's Delight that night because I had a seriously awesome brainstorm session with my dad and devised a plan involving a road trip, interviews with experts in different fields, and a camera. I was going to ask experts in different categories questions that recent graduates would have about life.. For example, I planned to somehow be able to sit down at Rachel Ray's kitchen table and ask her about cooking.. Very improbable, but it was going to happen in my mind!

Little did I know that someone had already done a post-graduation road trip.. and done it damn well. It was while conducting a google search for road trip grants (I had very little money at the time to be investing in road trips and adventures that I'd cherish for a lifetime.. I had to pay college loans to pay!) I came across what, I think, I was meant to find all along: Roadtrip Nation

Roadtrip Nation is an AWESOME organization.. I can't express their awesomeness enough. They are a PBS series and educational tool. They are inspiring students, recent graduates, and people of all ages to pursue their passions wholeheartedly. Yes, they are awesome indeed! The organization was founded by a group of friends who weren't sure what to do with their lives after graduating from college. They piled into an old RV, painted it green, and headed out on the road with a camera in hand to talk to real people who had real passions that they were able to pursue as careers. The result was a documentary that developed into the series for PBS. The experience was so powerful, that each year the organization sends groups of young adults out on the road (some in green RVS, others on indie trips in their own cars) to have a road trip of their own. The content gets made into the TV series and webisodes so the wisdom of those "leaders" interviewed can continually reach anyone seeking it.

As soon as I came across Roadtrip Nation through my web search I screamed. Literally. I remember putting my hands over my mouth as I browsed the RTN website and jumping up and down in my seat as I realized that I could apply for a road trip of my very own! I filled out my application that night and had it sent in for review by the following day. When I got an e-mail back from RTN saying that I had been accepted as an Indie Roadtripper, I was SO excited. I don't actually think that I had ever wanted anything as much as I wanted that trip up until that moment in my life. I recruited two close friends of mine to go on the trip with me and we headed out as a team in October of 2008 for nine days of adventure. Our team name was the What Now Wanderers and here's what our route looked like:

We interviewed a bunch of leaders from all different professions - from a food blogger to the editor in chief of National Geographic. Seeing the country by car was something totally new to me. I had done a few road trips prior to our Indie Trip, but never one saturated with so much purpose and reflection. The experience was life changing and it really put in a seed in my heart to pursue fun and meaningful work. Thus, begins my collection of odd jobs..

Not every odd job that I've worked has been meaningful to me. Not every odd job that I've worked has lead me in the direction of my passions for creativity and art. The one thing that every odd job that I've worked has done is provided me with a unique and interesting way to make a buck. I've developed a close working relationship with Craig's List. As shady as it has the potential to be, it's provided me with the majority of the odd jobs I've worked and always been very good to me (except for a few notable times when the results have been just downright unusual).

Well, this post has gotten longer than expected, so my next post... a part 2 to this one!.. will have my list of odd jobs up until now.