I'm a long-haul trucker. It's a lonely job, especially as a woman — but I can support my kid and see incredible places.

• Tracey Price was couch surfing when she took a training contract for long-haul trucking in 2012.
• She told Insider she has a "healthy fear" of the 80,000-pound truck she drives and sleeps in. 
• Her favorite thing about long-haul truck driving is all the different places she gets to see. 

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 39-year-old Tracey Price, a long-haul truck driver for aifleet based in Texas. It has been edited for length and clarity.