Living Your Truth

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

• Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, Lines 16-20

In 2015, bright-eyed and full of hope, I graduated with an International Affairs degree without a clue about what I would do afterwards. I had gone through college with a few dream careers in mind that proved to be less fulfilling than I had imagined. So I moved to Chicago on a whim to take a stab at the "real world," knowing only that I wanted to do my best to help those around me.

I chose the non-profit route for about a year, became a workaholic, quit my job, and had an existential crisis followed by a series of health scares. Feeling lost and depressed, I did what most people do and asked others for advice, but could not find my answer. I had lost sense of what I actually wanted because I was listening to what others thought was best for me. I somehow convinced myself that what I needed was a higher-paying, high-profile job, a luxurious apartment, and a nice car, which would somehow solve all my problems.

It didn't take long before I noticed how inauthentic I was being.

As I tried to reach that "millennial hustler" dream life, I faced roadblock after roadblock. I knew something wasn't right...and my body told me the same. I found myself getting sicker and sicker and knew that the anxiety in my stomach was trying to tell me something. As I saw my life fall apart, I realized that I simply didn't want to follow the path that others had laid out for me. I would have to get over my inability to make decisions for myself and shift into taking full responsibility for my own life.

After a few chaotic years in Chicago, I relocated, somewhat unwillingly, to Pittsburgh. A move that was meant to be temporary ended up slowly transforming my perspective on life. I never thought that I would live in a city that was "slower" or "smaller" because I thought that cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago had a lot more to offer. Little did I know that this was just the peace of mind I was looking for.

Pittsburgh was exactly the place I needed to clear my head, slow down, and get centered. Centering myself meant achieving some sort of clarity and connecting with myself to find the answers to my own questions. Why search outside when all of the answers are within?

The scary part of finding the answers, though, was noticing that my innermost self wanted to go down the "road less traveled." Part of me wanted my answers to be conventional so I could avoid any push back from my parents, friends, and society as a whole. The other part of me knew a lot more strongly that I would never be happy if I followed the handbook rules.

Now in my mid-twenties, I've been dabbling in different movements, teachings, and practices as I try to create an alternative lifestyle for myself. I never saw myself trying to be vegan, minimizing my belongings, practicing yoga seriously, doing daily meditation, or thinking about tiny home living, but here I am! And as 'hippy' or 'New Age' as this sounds, it's hard ass work...and worth it.

The great part of aligning yourself with what you truly want is that you also find others who are doing the same. I've met people who have quit their jobs to focus on their artistry and develop a business, others who have decided to travel the world and get paid for it, someone who has reached the PhD level, dropped out, and focused on investing in cryptocurrency, and some who have built their own brands based on their expertise.

As I continue to author my own story and strive to live in my truth, I invite you to join me in doing the same. Whatever your truth is, try to find it and make decisions that align more closely to that every day. I hope my experiences are relatable in some way, shape, or form, and that we can create the life and world we've always imagined, together.