The Take Back List Chapter One: Meow Wolf
My Travel Story
In 2013 I started my dream job, traveling the USA and volunteering for different not profits, in only 3 years I lived and worked in 10 states volunteering for nonprofits serving underprivileged youth, Natural disaster victims, nature enthusiasts, and individuals barely scraping by. It was a dream and I embodied the life even when I wasn't in uniform I was serving others, comforting strangers, providing meals, and listening to their stories with warmth and compassion
In 2016 my dream became a nightmare, when I started experiencing painful intrusive memories of a past trauma I had repressed, I went from independent humanatrain, to bed ridden almost overnight. My first Hospital trip was in 2016 and my last one was in 2022 with 21 trips total in 6 years. I resented myself for not being strong enough to keep traveling and because I simply couldn't accept how fragile I became, it took a long time to seek the right treatment
The list
In 2018, I told myself I couldn't live this way much longer and I made myself a deal. I would write a list of all the things in life that used to cause my joy, and all the things I thought still might be able to bring me joy, I would spend 5 years really truly giving this life thing my best shot, and if on my 30th birthday, I didn’t feel any real improvement, I was going to give myself permission to quit trying.
This is how the list started, I wrote down all the things I was missing, all these beautiful and impossible things and promised to do everything I could to try and make them happen. It started out simple, 1.Go swimming, 2. Buy a new kind of cheese, 3.see a movie in theater 4.Attend a poetry slam 5.Make art. To my surprise it worked! The days I used to spend waiting for life to end, became days spent dreaming. I started getting more and more daring.
01.Go trick or treating as and adult , travel to Seattle, 3. Go indoor Skydiving, 4 Learn to Kayak. 5.Win a Poetry Slam. There were still hard days but more and more often those days felt meaningful and the hope inside me began to grow.
I got very focused, I divided the list into 5 categories, Economic Stability, Healing. Innerchild, Novelty, and Success. I created action plans, and worksheets and checklists, I identified what dreams would take a lot of work or money and crafted plans to make these dreams a reality. I realized the ambitious girl that left home at a young age was still here inside me, still dreaming of making the world better and still hungry for travel.
The person in me who signed up for Americorps all those years ago isn't done yet and even though I was delayed longer than I wanted to be, I still have a lot of life left to engage in.
My Goal:
To travel, live in, volunteer, and play in all 50 states. While crossing as many items off of my takeback list as I possibly can while healing ,my trauma, inspiring others and creating real lasting change all over the USA through volunteering and through creating art based recovery Shows by people with mental illness
The next Item on my List:
Vist: Meow Wolf Las Vegas. (Part of a bigger goal to see all 5 Meow Wolf attractions)
Volunteer at: Habitat for humanity and Vegas rescue mission
Explore: The Vegas recovery, and mental health scene including Rising Phoenix
My reason for choosing Vegas as my next goal is threefold,
OmegaMart by MeowWolf has been on my list since the day I made it it, and has alway felt impossible, I hope by doing this impossible thing, I will feel inspired and motivated to do more “impossible things” and that by interacting with something so novel I will be able to reinstate tha drive needed to complete my goals.
Volunteering With Vegas Rescue mission, Interacting with Phoenix Rising and Habitat. By volunteering with Vegas Rescue Mission and Habitat, I will be able to see evidence of other people who are also doing their best to make the world better and will have the chance to make my own impact.
By going on this trip I will be able to better assess my own mental health and abilities in order to determine what, if anything, needs to change in order for me to make travel a regular part of life again, which will help me tailor my personal growth efforts in the most effective way.
After this trip is over I will take any data I recive and use it to plan my next 4 Meow Wolf Trips, hopfully having seen all of them before September 2024
THANK YOU
If you got this far I just want to say thank you for listening to my story. If you see myself in you please know anything is possible and healing will happen if you are open to it. I never thought I would ever leave the city again, let alone the state, and I NEVER thought I would heal as much as I did. The world needs your story and you deserve to live to tell it. Thank you for supporting this important journey of mine
-Sunshine Luna
Updates
1-
3 Days!
Oh my goodness! I can not believe I will be staying in Vegas in 3 days! I already have the flight, hostel and my ticket to Omegamart taken care of. ?>
I will arrive in the early afternoon on the 13th, I will volunteer with Habitat and Rescue mission on the 14th, and the 16th and I will see Omega Mart on the 15th! Thanks so much for your support
Adventure Registry
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Area 15 experience pass Vegas
$ 124 -
Meal at Sugar Factory Vegas
$ 50 -
Immersive Disney event Vegas
$ 25 -
Circus Circus Adventure Dome
$ 60 -
OmegaMart
$ 54Myself- Granted
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Campaign Ended
$ 0 USD
Total Donation Received-
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Funded -
$ 2,678 USD
Goal Amount -
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Days Left
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Cost Calculator
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Airfare/ International Flights
$ 600
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Accommodation
$ 600
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Luggage and Equipment
$ 350
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Local Travel Expenses
$ 1,000
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FundMyTravel Site Fee
$ 128
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Donor Rewards
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10 USD
I will send you a postcard/creative letter from my most recent adventure
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15 USD
I will send you a video poem from my travels
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35 USD
I will make you a nice art piece.
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50 USD
I will do any dare (Costing $50 or less) and video it
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