Cure for Eleutheromania
Eleutheromania: An intense and irresistible desire for freedom. My name is Stephanie Peters and I am an Eleutheromaniac. The cure? Travel the entire world. The date treatment begins is September 23rd in Cebu, Philippines.
The Dream
In June of 2017 I made the final decision to discontinue my studies in college to travel the world. My childhood dream of living a minimal lifestyle around the world was finally set in motion. The ideal goal is to start in South East Asia, from Asia move into India, hopefully make it through the Middle East, to the Mediterranean and finish off in Europe. I want to be gone for a long time and I’m so close to making it happen.
I came home to my parent’s house in Orange County to find a job bartending and save as much money as I could in a year.
Unfortunately, not everything is going according to plan.
Speed Bumps
I’d like to be blatantly honest here, I need financial assistance. I wish there was an easier way to phrase “free money” but there is not, and I would like to keep you all in the loop.
By the end of the first month being home, I found three job positions to dedicate myself to saving money. The goal was to make $15,000 to cover airfare, gear, vaccinations and traveler’s insurance. Of course, the game of life likes to throw random curve balls to make your goal more challenging to achieve.
In the beginning of September, I broke my toe by dropping a keg on it at work. Crazy, right?! Yes it was very heavy. This incident put me out of work for seven weeks which led to an instant halt in savings. At the end of those seven weeks, I was promptly offered a job aboard an adventure cruise ship in Mexico, which promised a very large sum of tip money at the end of each week. However, management failed to explain to the crew there was not a trip booked every week, I was working on a ship for $3 per hour for five months.
My father had intense spinal surgery in the month of February 2018 which led me to ultimately decide to come home. My reasoning was I could care for my parents while also working a job. I came home March 3rd, 2018 and was not able to successfully find a job. By the end of the month I had come to a very radical decision that hopefully opened several new doors for me. I decided to move to Portland, OR.
“WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU MOVE TO PORTLAND?” you may ask. Well, here’s why:
1) Public transportation is AMAZING here. I figured I would sell my car and get a huge sum of money from it and bum it around on the bus or ride a bike every day. So far it has proven to be a good investment.
2) It gave me the chance to be an adult and pursue my plans without the very influential opinions of my parents. Their words of wisdom and advice led me to feel unsure about what I could and couldn’t achieve. I love my parents, but a grown adult living in their parent’s house tends to stunt growth, at least for me it did. Portland was the opportunity to hang out with my friends I had here and do it in the way I believed I could.
3) The Pacific Northwest is extremely gorgeous in the Summer. What’s even better is the amazing beer scene here in town. I figured I could get a job at a brewery as a seasonal worker and save up loads of money while also exploring a new place. I am currently working full time at the Rogue Pearl House as a waitress. Come visit!
So… Here I am.
Your Assistance
I am asking for your assistance to help me travel for I fear that I will get stuck here in Portland chasing a number. There will never be the right time to travel, but I really want to make sure that I have a comfortable number stashed away for the x amount of years I desire to travel.
I am not asking you all to fill the gaps in my savings that ultimately fund my trip, rather I ask for your aid in paying for things I need to get myself to my destination. It wouldn’t be money shoved into my pocket to have fun, it would be a donation that sets me up for success. The things I’m in need of include gear, vaccinations and traveler’s insurance. Below is an estimation of what I need to succeed:
Vaccinations/Medication = $2,000 which includes Hepatitis A, Varicella, Japanese Encephalitis and Rabies.
Gear = ~ $800 including a backpack, different footwear and safety tools.
Traveler’s insurance = ~ $800/year which is around the average for adventure/sport insurance.
Average Total = ~$3600
I currently live in a comfy little house, with another female and her dog. My things are neatly put away, there’s food in the fridge, there’s a big backyard and I feel completely at home. That terrifies me. Comfort and getting stuck go hand in hand. If I don’t reach at least the minimum goal amount of $10,000 by the time my plane has to take off, I fear I will continue to be comfortable here chasing a number.
The Cure
I was 13 years old when my dad sent me on the Washington D.C trip for eighth graders. I met so many people, learned so many cool things and created lasting memories for myself. When I came home to tell my dad all about the fun I had he told me,
“That’s the beauty and romance of travel. You can do that if you want. When you grow up, if college doesn’t work out, you can live a humble little life in a shack across the world if you wanted to”.
Ten years later that idea of “living a humble little life” is coming true. I want to travel the world to experience and learn things. I want to learn things about the world and about myself to find out how I truly want to spend the rest of my life. I desire to become a yoga instructor studying the practice in India, I yearn to get involved in ocean and habitat conservation in various areas of the world, and I want to meet as many people as I can and learn about individuals outside of the West Coast of the USA.
Any amount of donation helps. Thank you so much for reading my story and I am greatly appreciative of all your support. I have a very fresh travel blog in the making on Instagram named @honestly.human
You can find me there and keep up with my successes, failures and progress towards my goal. Thank you all so much for your time!
Stephanie M Peters
The Dream
In June of 2017 I made the final decision to discontinue my studies in college to travel the world. My childhood dream of living a minimal lifestyle around the world was finally set in motion. The ideal goal is to start in South East Asia, from Asia move into India, hopefully make it through the Middle East, to the Mediterranean and finish off in Europe. I want to be gone for a long time and I’m so close to making it happen.
I came home to my parent’s house in Orange County to find a job bartending and save as much money as I could in a year.
Unfortunately, not everything is going according to plan.
Speed Bumps
I’d like to be blatantly honest here, I need financial assistance. I wish there was an easier way to phrase “free money” but there is not, and I would like to keep you all in the loop.
By the end of the first month being home, I found three job positions to dedicate myself to saving money. The goal was to make $15,000 to cover airfare, gear, vaccinations and traveler’s insurance. Of course, the game of life likes to throw random curve balls to make your goal more challenging to achieve.
In the beginning of September, I broke my toe by dropping a keg on it at work. Crazy, right?! Yes it was very heavy. This incident put me out of work for seven weeks which led to an instant halt in savings. At the end of those seven weeks, I was promptly offered a job aboard an adventure cruise ship in Mexico, which promised a very large sum of tip money at the end of each week. However, management failed to explain to the crew there was not a trip booked every week, I was working on a ship for $3 per hour for five months.
My father had intense spinal surgery in the month of February 2018 which led me to ultimately decide to come home. My reasoning was I could care for my parents while also working a job. I came home March 3rd, 2018 and was not able to successfully find a job. By the end of the month I had come to a very radical decision that hopefully opened several new doors for me. I decided to move to Portland, OR.
“WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU MOVE TO PORTLAND?” you may ask. Well, here’s why:
1) Public transportation is AMAZING here. I figured I would sell my car and get a huge sum of money from it and bum it around on the bus or ride a bike every day. So far it has proven to be a good investment.
2) It gave me the chance to be an adult and pursue my plans without the very influential opinions of my parents. Their words of wisdom and advice led me to feel unsure about what I could and couldn’t achieve. I love my parents, but a grown adult living in their parent’s house tends to stunt growth, at least for me it did. Portland was the opportunity to hang out with my friends I had here and do it in the way I believed I could.
3) The Pacific Northwest is extremely gorgeous in the Summer. What’s even better is the amazing beer scene here in town. I figured I could get a job at a brewery as a seasonal worker and save up loads of money while also exploring a new place. I am currently working full time at the Rogue Pearl House as a waitress. Come visit!
So… Here I am.
Your Assistance
I am asking for your assistance to help me travel for I fear that I will get stuck here in Portland chasing a number. There will never be the right time to travel, but I really want to make sure that I have a comfortable number stashed away for the x amount of years I desire to travel.
I am not asking you all to fill the gaps in my savings that ultimately fund my trip, rather I ask for your aid in paying for things I need to get myself to my destination. It wouldn’t be money shoved into my pocket to have fun, it would be a donation that sets me up for success. The things I’m in need of include gear, vaccinations and traveler’s insurance. Below is an estimation of what I need to succeed:
Vaccinations/Medication = $2,000 which includes Hepatitis A, Varicella, Japanese Encephalitis and Rabies.
Gear = ~ $800 including a backpack, different footwear and safety tools.
Traveler’s insurance = ~ $800/year which is around the average for adventure/sport insurance.
Average Total = ~$3600
I currently live in a comfy little house, with another female and her dog. My things are neatly put away, there’s food in the fridge, there’s a big backyard and I feel completely at home. That terrifies me. Comfort and getting stuck go hand in hand. If I don’t reach at least the minimum goal amount of $10,000 by the time my plane has to take off, I fear I will continue to be comfortable here chasing a number.
The Cure
I was 13 years old when my dad sent me on the Washington D.C trip for eighth graders. I met so many people, learned so many cool things and created lasting memories for myself. When I came home to tell my dad all about the fun I had he told me,
“That’s the beauty and romance of travel. You can do that if you want. When you grow up, if college doesn’t work out, you can live a humble little life in a shack across the world if you wanted to”.
Ten years later that idea of “living a humble little life” is coming true. I want to travel the world to experience and learn things. I want to learn things about the world and about myself to find out how I truly want to spend the rest of my life. I desire to become a yoga instructor studying the practice in India, I yearn to get involved in ocean and habitat conservation in various areas of the world, and I want to meet as many people as I can and learn about individuals outside of the West Coast of the USA.
Any amount of donation helps. Thank you so much for reading my story and I am greatly appreciative of all your support. I have a very fresh travel blog in the making on Instagram named @honestly.human
You can find me there and keep up with my successes, failures and progress towards my goal. Thank you all so much for your time!
Stephanie M Peters