Hey, I’m Kayla Jo!
Founder of SHEGOZ, Van Lifer and Dog Lover
And This Is My Story…
What do you think about when you can’t fall asleep at night?
Quitting your job? Dropping out that class you can’t stand? Moving across the country? Across the world? Now, what response does your brain automatically give after those “crazy” ideas? “No, I can’t do that!” “I could never.” It’s insane the number of times that this happens to me. But what if, now hear me out, what if we challenge those “can’ts?” What if instead of waking up the next morning and doing the same routine we’ve been doing (and dreading), what if we quit that job? Drop out of that class? Move? Travel? What’s stopping you? Like, seriously?
My latest “can’t” was at 4a.m. on one of my many sleepless nights.
My brain was going 100mph thinking about what the hell I was doing with my life – a subject I’m sure we’re all familiar with. I had dropped out of college a couple months back, after being there for only three weeks, and moved back to my hometown of Las Vegas, to live with my parents. Exactly a week before this sleepless night, I got in a car crash (small enough that no one was hurt thankfully, but bad enough that it would cost at least $4,000 to repair). I was trying to wrap my mind around the fact that one small second could have saved me months worth of pay checks. I knew I couldn’t go without a car (public transportation in Vegas is not ideal), but I wasn’t sure that I even wanted to repair my car because I had no solid plans for my foreseeable future.
Suddenly, it hit me.
I thought back to those TikToks I had been watching with envy. A van. I can buy a van, renovate it, and live in it with a furry best friend. Putting a downpayment of $4,000 for a van was much more exciting to me than to repair my old car. “No,” I thought to myself, “I can’t do that. That’s crazy!” After many more hours and playing devil’s advocate, I challenged my “can’t”. “Well, why can’t I?” I asked myself.
When I came to the conclusion that it was scarier to miss out on a road trip across the US then it was to quit my job, I knew I had to do it. I felt the most excited I’ve felt in a while and knew it was the right choice.
I have my van, now…
I just need to renovate it and hit the road! Follow along to see what I did to save money pre Van Life, where I am looking to find the perfect van for me, and how I plan to turn a vehicle into a liveable home (like.. where will I even shit?!)