Woman pushes shopping cart from Daly City to NYC

There are few among us who can say they’ve never wished to leave the routine of their daily lives to go — somewhere, anywhere. Here’s a story to inspire the rest of us dreamers who haven’t mustered up the courage to do so yet. The heroine of our story is Catherine Li, a 24-year-old who has been walking across the country since February just for the hell of it.

MSNBC reports Li left Daly City, Calif. for the 3,000 mile journey to New York City on a whim, with nothing more to support her than a modest savings account, cell phone and a suit case that she later dropped for a Sears shopping cart along the way. While some call her a bum, or a crazy bum, others like James “Mac” MacDade of Langhorne, Pa are fascinated by this young woman’s story and have provided her with a place to crash, gift cards or cash. Mac’s couch became Li’s unexpected bed for the night on Tuesday.

The Stir points out that many before her have made the trek across the States for charity or notoriety, but Li’s story is different because she isn’t looking for attention. While most of us find it hard to go about our days without tweeting about the recent trip to the dry cleaners, Li has purposefully stayed away from social media networks and blogging during her soul search.

After meeting many curious strangers and struggling to explain the reasons that propel her trip, Li has finally figured out the simple answer to everyone’s question, WHY?

“I just felt like walking. I just decided to click over to living in the actual moment instead of inventing all these fantastic fantasies for the future.”

She then adds, revealingly:

“When you’re on a trip like this, you get so much closer to the truth about yourself. […] A quest is different for everyone, but the courage is the same.”

You go, girlfriend.