How did I become a prepper?
Well…I really didn’t set out to become one. When I started all this, there wasn’t a term for that kind of thing…at least not one that I was aware of.
Honestly, I’ve had an interest in preparedness since a very early age. When I was about 9 or 10 years old, my family was invited to go for a boat ride on Lake Powell on the Utah/Arizona border. For those of you who are not familiar with this lake, it on the Colorado River, just upstream from the Grand Canyon. The lake itself is an incredible maze of side canyons with almost 2000 miles of shoreline. The family who had extended us this invitation had intended on taking us to a remote canyon to go for a hike to see some dinosaur tracks. Sounds fun, right?
…Except that “three hour tour” did not end up not as planned.
We found the remote canyon, wound our way up the narrow twists and turns, and parked the boat at a beach. After we had all disembarked and hiked up the canyon a ways (as the dinosaur tracks were further up the slots which were accessible only on foot,) we noticed thick black smoke towering back behind where we had left the boat. We hustled back to discover the boat was completely engulfed in flames.
“What now?!!!,” I thought. (I grew up with “Gilligan’s Island” reruns as a staple of our entertainment, so when the group had discovered itself marooned, I was imagining that our “three hour tour” was destined to be a long ordeal.)
Thank goodness it wasn’t. Another boat had happened to travel up the same remote slot canyon, and we were back to the docks within a matter of hours. But still….the whole event shook that 9 year old girl…and an interest in preparing for emergencies began.
That interest only grew as I got older. In fact, my whole adult life I had been storing such things as “72 hour kits,” water, and extra food. I’ve also done lots of reading, and it helps that I naturally have an insatiable appetite for leaning about how the world works around us. I’ve been doing this now for over 20 years. (Ha! Yes, I’ll go ahead and date myself.) Honestly, I don’t mind as I want for you to know I’ve been into “prepping” (as it is now called) for a very long time.
Just so you know, I will make no claim on being an expert survivalist, bushcrafter, homesteader, or whatever. I tend to question those who claim to be experts anyway as there is always so much more to learn. I do not have military experience, either. I am just me…but I have learned a lesson or two in the time I have done all this. I am still learning as well, and furthermore, I believe I have a lot to share.
My philosophy is simple. Preparedness is not just about killing zombies. It’s about living a lifestyle that has one prepared for any kind of out-of-the-ordinary event, large or small. It’s a mind set, really. We will most likely only have to use those resources for everyday, common emergencies. However, I believe we all should prepare for life-altering large scale disasters too… (because there is not one of you that could guarantee 100% that one would not happen.)
My goal is to share what I have learned…and hopefully you will find something…even if it just some inspiration…to prepare yourselves for whatever life may bring you.
This article has inspired me to investigate my prepper roots thru journaling. Thank you
Thanks so much for the Q code cards. I was browsing for list and I came upon yours. They looked so nice, I decided to see who made them. Petite Prepper is a fun name.