Hot take: Selling my car in downtown Portland broke my brain for a week

I was dead set against public transit for years, then I spent 3 hours circling for parking on a Tuesday night. How do you square your identity with a choice that clearly makes zero sense?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery_jackson17d ago

Forget the car thing - try losing your phone in Portland and realizing you actually liked being unreachable.

the_wendy17d ago

Liking being unreachable" hit me hard. I did that on purpose once. Took a weekend trip to the coast. Left the phone in the glovebox the whole time. Read two books. Actually talked to strangers at a diner. Came back and realized my phone was just a habit, not a necessity. Now I do a "phone free Sunday" once a month. Best thing I ever did.

skyler_jackson2714d ago

...and the weirdest part is how fast my brain just accepted it. I sold my truck last year and switched to biking everywhere in Portland. First week I thought I'd made a huge mistake. Second week I realized I wasn't constantly angry about traffic anymore. The whole "identity" thing is just noise we tell ourselves to feel important. You're still you, just with less metal and payments to worry about. Best decision I ever made honestly.