{"id":5699,"date":"2017-05-11T08:35:57","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T06:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marjoleininhetklein.com\/?p=5699\/"},"modified":"2019-12-14T09:16:25","modified_gmt":"2019-12-14T08:16:25","slug":"take-a-walk-in-my-shoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marjoleininhetklein.com\/en\/2017\/05\/11\/take-a-walk-in-my-shoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Take a walk in my shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t want to let myself be guided by negativity. I believe one can achieve so much more with a positive attitude, and it will make you a happier person. But unfortunately, negativity finds its way into my life as well and I have to find a way to deal with it. And it gets to me, I\u2019m quite sensitive to it. There are people out there that are very critical of me, that think everything comes easy for me and that I don\u2019t do a very good job. Though I know I have absolutely no reason to explain myself, I still feel the need to do so. You see, things aren\u2019t all that easy for me and I\u2019m on my own most of the time. So here it is, a little peek into my life at this moment. Have a look and see if you would like to trade places, once you\u2019ve read this.<\/p>\n

I had to overcome quite some challenges in my life in order to get where I am today. For starters, I have been walking in and out of hospitals since the age of seven due to a condition that\u2019s called \u2018panhypopituarism\u2019. Go ahead and Google it. That condition caused me to never feel connected to kids my age when I was younger, and made me feel like I was on the outside looking in. I struggled with being overweight, felt ugly and never good enough. The latter still is a tiny issue. I\u2019ve had a dozen jobs and nothing could hold my interest for very long. I searched for that which makes me happy and where I belonged, and eventually found it in the Tiny House movement.<\/p>\n

I took a leap of faith to trade in my safe life for a big adventure, the realization of my own Tiny dreamhouse. At that time you couldn\u2019t find anything online about Tiny Houses in the Netherlands and there weren\u2019t any people around with experience or knowledge about how to build such a house, so I had a lot of research to do. Thankfully I met some wonderful people on the way that helped me do this, like the team from Walden, Dimka Wentzel and generous sponsors. Even so, the decisions were up to me and there were many, many of them. You can read all about it in the blogs that I wrote.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

I adopted the role of ambassador for the Tiny House movement in the Netherlands because I believe to the core of my being in this different way of living, in the philosophy behind it. I dream of a better world and I believe this movement brings it a step closer. By being an ambassador I have put myself out there. We have a Dutch saying, literally translated it says: when you stick your head above the mowing field, it gets cut off. Which means as much as: when you stand out from the crowd, you get targeted. I have rarely sought out the media but did grab the opportunities that came my way, to put the Tiny House movement in the spotlight. I believe that has helped the movement grow so rapidly here in the Netherlands. I am happy that others have joined me who can take over a bit, though there is a small part of me that is afraid of falling behind and not being needed anymore. I\u2019m only human.<\/p>\n

I have put a lot of effort into finding a spot to park my house and live in it. I gathered a group of people around me to file a pilot project plan at the city council of Bergen, which proofed to be unfeasible at that time. I found people willing to let me park my house on their terrain, but when the media attention rose like crazy that was no longer an option either. Together with Monique I travelled all over the country, giving lectures about Tiny Houses to spread the word and inform people, and by doing so got the chance to create a place for Tiny Houses here in Alkmaar, together with the people from the Gasfabriek. It wasn\u2019t until four days before the build of my house was finished, that I received permission to live here in my house. And only for one month at that.<\/p>\n

With my input, Claire from the Gasfabriek filed a project plan for a pilot with several Tiny Houses on the plot of land that I\u2019m on, for which we received a permit this January. A lot of negotiations preceded that, it didn\u2019t come easy. Next we received an objection to the pilot from the neighbours, the sewerage treatment plant. At this moment I\u2019m waiting on the outcome of the objection procedure. I feel the pressure of 370+ people that applied for a spot in the project, of which 38 people were sincerely interested and ready to join. The cooperation with all the different parties involved is not exactly a walk in the park. I can\u2019t tell you all that is going on, but it\u2019s always more complicated than you think.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I have been living here for almost a year now and people think I’ve got it made. I do feel blessed, but it doesn\u2019t come easy. For example, we didn\u2019t have much rain the last couple of weeks and my water tank is almost dry. I can\u2019t shower or do the laundry at home at the moment. I\u2019m unsure of how things will proceed with the project here, it could very well be that I have to move all of a sudden. I really would love to have neighbours and the Netherlands is watching me and wondering when that is going to happen. Some people might wonder whether or not I do enough to make that happen. It\u2019s not up to me people, otherwise it would have happened already.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Last November I became a fulltime independent entrepreneur, so I could invest all my time and energy into the Tiny House movement. Earning your living in a work environment where budgets are tight or non-existent and where many people expect you to work for free because \u2018it\u2019s based on idealism?\u2019 is not easy, I can tell you that. \u00a0The work I do for Tiny House Nederland is 95% for free, I do it with love. I find it difficult to ask for money for my services. There is a voice inside my head that whispers: \u2018who am I to charge people money, really?\u2019 that I can sometimes shut up, other times not so easily. I love being independent but am also anxious to see if I can get enough paid assignments to pay the bills each month. The payments for my house will go on for four years yet, and I have to pay a little rent for the land I\u2019m on, so I\u2019m not living for free, by far. Nobody is telling me how to do this, start and manage a company. I have to figure it out myself. Though I have asked for, and been given advice and tips. Up till now things are going relatively well and I\u2019m not shy to say I\u2019m a little proud of myself.<\/p>\n

I work very hard and after that I hardly have any energy left for social activities. So, I tell people that a Tiny House moves your focus from stuff to social connections, and then I sit in my house all day and sometimes see nobody for the entire day. Can you spot the discrepancy? I feel that I\u2019m a terrible friend and that some of my friends feel alienated from me because my life has turned in such a different direction. I often work behind my laptop all day, and in the evening use it again for gaming, a habit that snuck back into my life and helps me relax. The cold weather that we\u2019ve had lately might play a part, when the weather becomes warmer again I think I will spent more time outdoors again. I smoke, drink energy drinks and sometimes take the car for grocery shopping when I could have used my bicycle instead. Nice and green, right? It makes me feel guilty. But why, really? I never claimed to be or strived to be the greenest person on Earth. I do what I can and what fits me. I have a lot to learn and do so on a daily basis. I initially thought that when my house would be done and I would be living in it, that I was going to be able to kick those addictions. Unfortunately, nope. Perhaps I will never be able to, but we can\u2019t predict the future. My life at this point is not balanced enough for me to smack these pesky little devils from my shoulder.<\/p>\n

Well, that became a pretty lengthy blog, and it\u2019s only the tip of the iceberg really. But you don\u2019t have to know everything that is going on in my life. What I\u2019m trying to say is this: the grass always looks greener on the other side and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram often give a distorted view on other people\u2019s lives, which makes us think they have it so much better. Regardless of all the above I have a pretty good life and I wouldn\u2019t trade it back for the life I had before I decided to take the plunge and have my own Tiny House built. It isn\u2019t perfect, but neither am I. I have a lot to learn. To let in love for example. I think I\u2019m quite strong, to be honest, but that is also my pitfall. Because people don\u2019t see that I\u2019m also a very sensitive person and critics can hit me pretty darn hard. Sometimes they don\u2019t, at times I can be evolved enough to think \u2018haters be like..\u2019 and don\u2019t waste another thought on it. There are people out there with zero empathy and the internet is full of trolls. I can miss those like a bad toothache in my life. I do my best with the knowledge and skills I possess at this point in my life, that\u2019s the best I can do. I keep learning and in a years\u2019 time I might do things differently. It\u2019s so easy to pass judgement, but to feel empathy for someone else, to think about what makes them say or act the way they do, is so much more rewarding. It gives you self-knowledge for example. Thankfully, the majority of the people in my life and the core of the Tiny House community are decent, warm, helpful, sweet, fun and amazing people and I\u2019m proud to be a part of their circle. For the others? Take a walk in my shoes and see how you like it ????<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

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