All my life I'd say I considered myself "healthier" than the average person. My mom grew up in Germany, she was a physical trainer when I was young and was always trying new "diets" - Adkins, Mediterranean, vegetarian to name a few- of course at that time I viewed this torture moreso as a vanity trick for my mothers waistline than for my health. I remember throwing a veggie burger out the back door when I took too long to eat and mom had left the table. When I was sick, we didn't rush to the doctor, I was given herbal teas, juices, and made to rest. I didn't get it at the time, but I'm grateful for this foundation today. 

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In college, as a Biology major, I learned about all that was wrong with the world - global warming, loss of forestry, species extinctions, and the disappearance of that thing we all need - water. About all the crazy possibilities that lie ahead - AI, genetic programming, biological warfare. Needless to say my health became my own responsibility, early 20's angst took over and what I ate or drank was of no consequence- we were all going to die anyway. lol 

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At the end of my 20's, through pregnancy, I dove further into my continued knowledge of the onslaught of toxicity we're expoed to daily - mostly through our food and skincare - the things we spend our hard earned money on... literally killing us slowly or otherwise riddling us with disease. I cared about the future again, the future world my child would one day inherit. I made as many "right choices" as I knew how. Eating organic fruits & veggies, using EWG to verify toxicity of skincare and processed foods, and trying to avoid those dreadfully delicious fast food joints we all can't seem to shake.  

 

When Covid hit, I was a first time mom to an almost 2 year old. With my past knowledge and shared further beliefs from those around me about "what's to come" (some hardcore preppers from back before it was "cool"), now come to real life with empty store shelves and the inability to move about freely, I feared the worst. With my son so young and the potential for sickness looming within my everyday career in real estate, I decided to dive into the study of medicinal herbs. I'd already studied the continued development of cannabis products like CBD and medical THC which showed great promise as herbal alternatives for many diseases which currently were being covered with a bandaid using synthetic pharmaceutical meds. 

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I chose to study not just medicinal herbs, but native medicinal herbs - you may know them as "weeds". The enlightenment of the amount of medicine that surrounds us growing wild, and more-so our complete oblivion to this fact, was mind blowing. Teas, tinctures, salves, and poultices from plants growing right in our backyards or nearby forests.

 

It was in this revelation that I discovered an awakening of an old soul within me. A desire to live on the land, to not need to pay $9 for a half bag of grapes, to create community around this feeling which was evidently not just one felt by me alone. 

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I share this short synopsis in hopes that you too recognize or relate in some way. My hope is to further spread as much self-sufficient knowledge as I can to those around me.

 

I'm just getting started - through life circumstances which have slowed my progress- I currently do not own land, and what I'm renting sits on less than a quarter acre. I have no garden, no raised beds, and while I've had chickens, my current HOA (and neighbors) may not be too pleased with me if I got them while I'm here. But I want to prove that this "homesteading" can be done no matter where life has you. 

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Let's make this journey to homestead together.