Stepping outside the system

Stepping Outside the System

After taking on this adventure, I’ve run into a series of challenges I didn’t fully anticipate; most of them tied to something as simple as an address.

The system is not set up for people like me.

If you don’t follow the standard path of steady employment, fixed housing, and predictable income, things get complicated fast. I tried to keep it as simple as possible by using a friend’s address in Indiana and having time-sensitive items forwarded on. It worked… until it didn’t.

When I applied for health insurance through the marketplace, I was placed into Medicaid based on my income. Not ideal, but fine. The real issue was logistics. Everything is state-based, time-sensitive, and often handled through physical mail. Without being in one place to respond quickly, I missed a deadline, and lost coverage.

Now that I’m settling in Minnesota, I’m running into it again.

I haven’t had a traditional paycheck in nine months, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working. Freelancing, selling prints, picking up teaching gigs; doing what I can to sustain this life without draining my savings. And… It’s working, just not in a way the system recognizes.

Last week, I applied for an apartment. I provide a letter explaining my income, along with a strong credit report. Their response? Pay a full year upfront or prove I make three times the rent.

It felt like a gut punch.

I understand the need for security on their end but where is the flexibility for people living outside the mold? The message was clear: you’re doing it wrong. And that’s the part I can’t shake. 

We talk a lot about bravery in our society; about taking risks, choosing a different path, building something unconventional. But the truth is, the system doesn’t reward that. It rewards predictability. It rewards staying put. It rewards playing by the rules. Which, I guess, is what makes stepping outside of it brave in the first place.

So many people I’ve met along this journey have said the same thing: “I wish I could do what you’re doing.”   They don’t because the cost of stepping outside feels too high.

Luckily, I’m not doing this alone. I have friends and family willing to co-sign, to offer a landing pad, to help me get my footing into the system again. 

But it’s made one thing very clear: There should be more room in this world for people who choose a different way to live.