Restless Meg

Introducing Restless Meg

Restless Meg did not exist when my 21-year-old hand reached for a diploma that outlined my life’s accomplishments: “Did good. Got B.S. Neuroscience degree.” For that version of Megan (future Mrs. Perfected Identity, M.D.), it would soon be time to shine in a medical career, marry happilly, bear children, convince my husband that we need 500 dogs, settle for two, and have tons of energy to tend to an impressive house.

But I meandered in a less picturesque direction. I’d failed the Passion for Medical School prerequisite, which desolated my vision of self and added a distracting (and irresistible) sparkle to the corporate ladder of the automative industry. After a few months of living and working in Detroit, calling a downtown high-rise “home” and wondering if I made it to “the rest of my life” with this unexpected career choice, Restless Meg showed up.

I examined my life across lined, blank, and quad-ruled pages in twelve colorful notebooks. I poured thoughts into my phone notepad and questions onto my laptop. I drew pictures on paper towels, I created music on the piano, I closed my eyes and lived in a world more exciting than where I was. I was creating work-life balance, I thought.

The idea behind the Restless Meg moniker, nerdily derived from the name of an annoying medical phenomenon, is that there is no “settle down” for me. There is no sitting still and doing what I “should” do. I have no internal drive for predictability and comfort.

I was working a new remote job and wondering how else to invigorate my life. I devoured blogs for ideas and eventually dreamt what I needed to do… I spent a week shopping for a vehicle and, a week later, left Michigan with only the essentials: a new Jeep, my laptop, my hiking boots, and a goal to experience the world (starting with the states that were accessible by car).

Between December 24, 2017 and March 5, 2021, I spent 1,000+ days exploring the open road, the cities, the barely-on-the-map towns, the National Parks and National Forests, the corn fields, the mountains, the coastlines, and the personalities of our country.

I am nomadic. I am curious. I wake up excited for each day’s adventures and conversations and challenges. I crave the exploration of deserts, oceans, mountains, and cultures. I appreciate the inner workings of the mind and the scientific marvels of the brain. I live for the chaos, the unpredictability, our ability to BE: Spontaneous. Reasonably carefree.