I'm almost 21, a bio major (ecology and conservation), with only one more semester in my undergrad. I have absolutely no debt and no living expenses. In fact, I actually got paid to go to school. Now I have over 20k saved and over 7k in a roth IRA. I work at a cafe on weekends to save more money. My only expenses are gas and car insurance.
I was planning on getting a masters, which should hopefully be paid for by a graduate assistantship (with my 3 yrs of research experience and 3.8 GPA I probably should?). I am pursuing a career in ecological restoration, botany, and community building :)
I am very frugal. I am more than satisfied eating things made only from wholefoods, I love to cook/bake, I want to learn to can/preserve, and if I had the opportunity to garden (more than what I have in my bedroom), I would. I want to be self sufficient, give myself greater opportunities to belong to a natural community (of human and non-human beings), and to live a fulfilling life that I don't give away for corporate profit. I want to work for myself, for a community, and for beneficial change. I don't care about being financially rich; I want to live richly.
I feel like I have more opportunity than most to start a life like this, but it's so much to grow into. I am constantly reading about my ecological, homesteading, and foraging interests, but I feel stuck. Maybe a better way to put it is "I'm rearing to go," but I don't know where to steer or how to let my foot off the break. I don't think this metaphorical car is even fully built yet. I'm being assembled in a garage.
But, as I get closer to living on my own (2-3 years?), I feel the pressure to start planning now. I don't want to get caught in the cycle of renting, but it's scary to plan for something that feels like a blind leap. No one I know wants a life like this. No disrespect to them, but I would be deeply unfulfilled if I focused on corporate career advancement just to pay for expenses rooted in always feeling like you never have enough. Not enough clothes, no fancy car... I don't want the next greatest technology, or an endless stream of plastic-encased product, or even a smartphone. I just want to heal the land and our relationships to it, to build community, to work for a cause, always learn more, and enjoy myself doing it.
I am missing a community that wants to (or does) live/think this way, which makes this vision feel less achievable. I'm a 20 yr old girl with two friends (w/ dissimilar interests), weak arms, and very little carpentry skills (although, admittedly, I am very crafty and have the perfect mind for it, hehe).
I guess this post is a call for community. To reach out to people who have more experience or are in the same boat. Do you have any advice? I'm curious. If you had my circumstances at my age (and had the same dreams), what would you have done?
Also, reach out if you want to be penpals :)) I am begging, actually.