Okay, I’m posting this because I genuinely want some opinions from the good people of the internet. I’ve been under some fairly heavy stress of late. And I know I’ve sort of been beating that dead horse repeatedly on this blog, but I’m sure it’ll go away eventually, right?
Well, it won’t just go away. I figure I need to do something about it. At the same time, I’d kind of like to cross of one of my bucket list items. Because what if all this stress kills me and I never get around to crossing this off my bucket list? I’m referring to a trip across the country. I’ve always wanted to just get in a car and drive. I want to make my way across the US, see all the sights, get to California only to turn around and come back.
But it turns out, that’s an expensive trip. Plus, I don’t 100% trust my car to make that kind of trip without having a little work done to it first. So the question that needs the opinions of you, the good readers of this random blog post, is this: Would it be entirely selfish to create a crowdfunding thing to raise money for this amazing road trip?
I look at the things that are set up on sites like GoFundMe and have yet to personally see something as selfish as, “I’m stressed out and want to take a road trip, will you pay for it please?” Though I do remember hearing about a Kickstarter campaign some time back where a guy raised thousands of dollars because he wanted to make potato salad. I’m not a big fan of potato salad, but I’ll make some if that’s what it takes to get some donations for this road trip deal.
What do you think? Entirely selfish? Only slightly selfish? Especially considering the fact that there are so many much worthier causes out there. Or is it just crazy enough to work?
The Confusing Middle 
I don’t know. You could always try it. The people who donate money to your cause won’t think it’s selfish and who cares about the people who don’t donate at all?
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Honestly, I think it is selfish, BUT you are a guy who gives of himself to kids throughout your week while receiving much less compensation via salary than you deserve (I’m assuming this- I don’t actually know how much you do make, but I firmly believe you and other counselors and teachers working in schools are grossly underpaid.) So set aside any concerns about selfishness. If you can make this trip happen, then go for it. If you want to offset people’s generosity, offer to blog/photograph along the way the sites and experiences. I would feel well-compensated for any donation if you did such, as I am sure would many others. You write well and already have a great blog- how much more might you offer to the “good people of the internet” who might find themselves living vicariously through you?
“Is it crazy enough to work?” I think you are crazy (in a fun way) enough to make it work, so do it.
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I’d like to take this trip sometime in the near future too and I didn’t realise how much it would cost – I’d definitely consider this route of fundraising because lots of people know what it’s like to have something they’ve always wanted to do yet not be able to have the money to make it happen. It’s an entirely relatable cause so hopefully people would want to help you 🙂
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Say you’re going to blog about it as you go. Would be a pretty cool thing for donors to follow.
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If you are making it a trip, if you could donate a portion of your proceeds to an organization, people might be more willing to provide funding… or you promise great blogging material?
I know someone that retired early from career, purchased a mini motorhome, traveled and blogged and did some stuff that was considered “work” related and wrote off a lot of his taxes, and such. I don’t know how that went because I lost track of them. And he was real dry, so I don’t know how well he wrote and how many people would follow his posts. I think he tried to write articles and sell to travel magazines.
Might be something to check into.
We’re in CA, south Orange County 30 min south of LA- near tourists stuff (Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Anaheim-Disneyland and Angel Stadium, etc.) I wouldn’t mind meeting you and hanging out. We’d do huge roller coasters at Magic Mountain. We just don’t have an extra room or I’d offer you free place to stay. We have 4 people already in a 2 bedroom condo.
That might be a way too… meet bloggers who are willing to let you stay at their places along the journey and you can both blog about your visits! That would help with room/board kind of expense. If I had a back yard, I’d let you pop a tent in it…
Seriously, try to find bloggers in various states that you would be driving through and stopping. Depending on when you hit CA, my family would love to take you to dinner and possibly sponsor a trip to Magic Mountain?
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I actually have a number of blogging friends that I’ve been keeping up with over the years that I’d love to meet at some point. I’ve always thought of that as kind of crazy, but when you read what they’re writing and they read what you’re writing, you get to know each other pretty well. I’ve watched families grow up from hundreds of miles away.
So I’d totally be up for hanging out and riding roller coasters! I have a friend who lives in LA, so the course I’ve plotted brings me through there for a day or two. I’ve been to LA once and took a tour of the different sites where they filmed Back to the Future, which was awesome. But I didn’t get to visit any amusement parks. I’m up for whatever!
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My family is BIG on Magic Mountain. We are the best people to go with, no lie. We’ve taken many friends there for their first time! If you end up doing this, hopefully, our timing will work (as we’ll be driving this summer too- up to Oregon, possibly ID, to AZ. Not sure yet. (my husband is in sales- so we drive and tack on “vacation” with work)
Yes, I used to have another blog a couple years ago and made another group friends (some I’m facebook friends with) and on the last big driving trip we did- CA to OR to WA to Canada, and my blogger pal in British Columbia drove to meet us in Victoria for lunch! It was AWESOME. We had so much fun and she has been seeing my kids grow on Facebook! So, yes, take advantage of that. Most people are up for it (not everyone)
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Couch surfing!
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