By: Jasmine Wilborne
I used to know who I was.
Really.
If you had met me a year and a half ago I would have said: I am an Evangelical Catholic christian.
I was the “praying for people in public” type of Christian. The Christian that would verbally fight against same-sex marriage. I was the girl who would invite you to bible study. My whole identity was steeped, saturated, swollen with God.
None of that is true now.
I am not a “believer” anymore. I’m sure over the course of this trip I will talk about this in detail, but simply, my identity is not based in religion anymore.
Freeing? Yes.
Daunting? Yes.
An opportunity for a new life? You bet!
So why am I deciding to ride my bike across the U.S with my best friend Seth Columbia? Because I’ve lost touch with who I am since I rejected my faith. I don’t know who I am and I don’t know what I really want. This adventure is a deliberate decision to allow the true “me” to manifest.
This trip means quitting my job (I’m a top performer who is being groomed by management to take on more roles btw) , leaving my family and friends behind, and venturing into a world of “no-return”. I mean, I’m nervous I won’t be employable after this!
All this to answer these questions: Who am I and what am I going to do with my life?
I know, it’s crazy.Will it be worth it? I guess we will have to find out.
PermaCycle 
October 6, 2014 at 9:39 am
I finally got to check out your blog. I had been interested since those first couple comments. I am so excited about this cycle trip! I can’t wait to see what you guts find. When do you start and where are you starting from?
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October 6, 2014 at 11:58 pm
Omg thank you so much NEPermHome 🙂 We will start sometime in March…right now banking on the first day of spring March 20th, which happens to be 4 days after my 24th birthday. We are leaving from New Haven/Hamden CT.
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October 7, 2014 at 12:55 am
That is awesome. I can’t wait to hear all about it! We are from Groton, CT! I am so excited for you to get to do something like this. I am happy with my life, but wish I had done something similar before I had settled down and had babies. Don’t ever change your plans! Do it and love every minute of it!
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October 7, 2014 at 1:23 am
OMG! A close friend of mine lives by the airport! 🙂 Thank you. But when I tell you I am scared shitless!! I’m like sheesh I have GOT to tell my parents for support. I understand your point of view. It takes every one of us: seasoned to the wild child to get this earth on track. Your contribution is necessary!
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October 7, 2014 at 1:30 am
I hope I can contribute in some way. Through my kids or just my example. I get most excited when I am able to inspire someone. If if it is in the tiniest way. Every little bit!
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October 7, 2014 at 1:41 am
Thank you so much! We want to make this a “community focused sending off” as much as possible. We want to reduce the amount of stupid new stuff we buy, and instead opt to borrow items from our community. We could definitely use non-monetary donations of items that you wouldn’t mind lending out to us. I have already cataloged your earthship suggestion in our “pre-trip planning suggestions”! I FELL in love with Earthships in 2008 🙂
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October 7, 2014 at 1:22 am
Oh yeah, check out Koviashuvik local living school. Tons of great stuff they offer for classes and stuff. That is pretty close to us where we are now. In Taos, NM there is a place where they have an Earthship community. If you aren’t familiar with Earthships, you should check them out. Out of our price range, but an excellent source of ideas for the house we want to build.
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October 7, 2014 at 1:51 am
We have gotten big into buying things at thrift shops and stuff. It is amazing the goodies you can find! What kind of stuff do you need for this kind of trip? I wouldn’t even begin to know.
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October 7, 2014 at 9:14 am
I was basically born at a thrift store. haha jk. We need (takes a look at her google drive spreadsheet which catalogs all this stuff) we need stuff ranging from bunson burners for cooking to reflectors to install on our bikes. I personally need a single person 4-season tent and we both need headlamps! See it is like random specific things that either we pay for or we ask to borrow or ask if someone would like to “gift” us with it. More info coming soon 🙂
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October 7, 2014 at 1:52 am
If you ever head this way, I could offer you a camp site, if we get it together by then…
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October 7, 2014 at 9:15 am
Homie! We will literally be camping on the side of the road (in some cases) your property would be super chill! Also, I definitely am the last person who is handling the map stuff…I’m not even sure if Groton is out of the way or in the way of going down south! haha.
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October 8, 2014 at 1:22 am
Have you checked into state parks at all? I know there is a way to get a season pass or something and you can camp at all state or national or something for the year. I’m pretty sure it is the national parks. I had looked at driving cross country at one point.
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October 8, 2014 at 4:04 pm
Oh that is a good idea. I will jot it down. We literally JUST (as of yesterday) began plotting places we would want to visit. My sister graduates in May from college and we plan (tentatively) to leave in March, so we are trying to head up north for a bit then come back to go down south. Everything is working its way out!
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October 8, 2014 at 1:23 am
And we are in middle Maine if you head that way…
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October 15, 2014 at 12:47 pm
I wasn’t looking but I found you through the gun biking post. So glad to listen in, as always. I am in support of all your journeys, physical and metaphorical. Sending love your way.
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October 15, 2014 at 2:03 pm
Jen you are THE BEST 🙂 Thank you for reading. I have a really supportive partner in crime and family who are here to keep me sane! I’m so interested to know how you found my post! 🙂 Best wishes to you and Maggie.
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October 15, 2014 at 9:00 pm
Hugs and love to you Jasmine – this sounds like a wonderful adventure. I’ll be following 🙂
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