Today I turn 51. And it was on my 50^th birthday that I launched this website. I have been wondering if this, then, is the first birthday or the first anniversary of my blog. For this English major, it’s a head scratcher. Either way, it’s been one amazing year. And it continues to be a super Supersize LIFE!

I thought I’d use this post to share the story of how this blog got its name.

In Funding a Supersize Life, I shared the story of how new projects I undertake involve me purchasing and filling a Moleskin journal. In that first Finances post, financial considerations (startup costs, startup income, on the road monthly costs and ways to make money on the road) started on page two.

But on page one, at the top, I asked myself the question: What Do I Call This Thing?

I remember thinking that naming it would, somehow, give this huge life change structure. It would help me get my mind around the idea of creating an entirely new life, unlike anything I had known previously.

If I could name it, I thought, I could do it.

It was not logical. Still, I could not turn to the second page until I had a name. Or at least until I had possible names.

Keep in mind, since I hadn’t turned to page two, I had not worked on the finances. I had done no analysis to see if this crazy wisp of an idea was even feasible. Still somehow I thought if I could name it, everything else would reveal itself.

Most of my life I’ve been a bit obsessed with names and what it means to name something.  It’s said that to name something is to possess it.  Or rather, naming is an act of trying to possess as we can never truly possess another thing or person. Still, we all do it. Most recently I’ve been agonizing over the naming of my trailer.

One of my fears in a very early post, 8 Things That Keep Me Up at Night, was not coming up with a cool name for the trailer.

But I digress.

During my adventure naming brainstorm session, I came up with an entire page of ideas. Some were cliche such as Life is a Highway, Riding Into the Sunset, On the Road, The Long Way Around.

Road references felt like I was following in the shadow of the great road trips. I wanted to carve my own path.

Some of my ideas referenced my little motley crew. A Girl, Her Dog, Her Cat and a Long Long Road.  A Wandering Soul and Her Dog. Sweet but limiting. Considering the ages of my pets—and I hate that this is true—the makeup of my crew won’t be the same in the foreseeable future.

I moved onto names referencing just me. Solo Soul, Solo Journey and Solo RV Living. But those weren’t quite right either.

Then I started getting closer with Living Small to Live Large and Downsize Living to Supersize Life. And one I really liked how it sounded was Small Home. Big Life. It captured what I was doing plus what I hoped my life on the road would be. And while no one except people in Anchorage would get this, I also liked the echo of the new (at the time) brand Anchorage had rolled out. Big. Wild. Life.

But, as it turned out, someone thought of that one before me. It was already a registered domain name. Plus I feared it would be confused with the tiny house movement.

I played with Downsizing Living to Supersize Life quite a lot. Took out the word “to” and added a comma. Made it two sentences. And ultimately ended up with what it is today.

I knew the longer the name, the less likely people would remember it or get it right in a search bar. So while the official name is Downsize Living Supersize LIFE, for web presence it is shortened to Supersize Life. Unlike the other names, the shortened version worked.

And I especially like that if it turns out I don’t take to the full-time RV life (another fear on the 8 Things That Keep Me Up at Night list), Supersize Life still reflects my mission. What I am really trying to do is open my world.

And at the end of the day, Supersize Life felt exactly right for me. The longer I use it, the more I settle into the name. The longer I have it, the more I like it.

Wonder what other RVers with websites and social media followings call themselves? There are some really great full-time RVers website names out there. The following are all websites I follow and recommend.

Some incorporate their names. Carolyn’s RV Life, Pippenings (her first name is Pippi) and Gone With the Wynns.

Others focus on one particular aspect of RV living. Technomadia, The Fit RV, Creativity RV and The RV Geeks.

And some are just fun. Wandering Porcupine, Road 2 Reinvention, The Lady is a Tramp and Love Your RV.

I’ve never asked. What do you think of the name Supersize LIFE? If you were going to name your own adventure, RV or not, what would you choose?

And in case you are wondering, I think I have come up with a very cool name for the trailer. But you have to wait for that reveal until I have my grubby little hands on my new Oliver.