My path hasn't always been straightforward either.
I know what it's like to lose touch with your own feelings.
Showing feelings? Showing weakness, let alone talking about them. For a long time, that was unimaginable for me.
The feeling of not being good enough accompanied me—quietly, but persistently.
I sought external validation, wanted to please, to function, to be "right."
But inside, much of me felt empty.
Only on my trip around the world, far from everything familiar, was I truly able to confront myself. In moments of silence, in encounters with other cultures, in letting go of role models,
something shifted within me: I realized that I don't have to change myself. I am fundamentally capable of giving myself recognition and appreciation.
I was able to learn to listen to myself.
To perceive my inner voice.
And to reorganize my thinking.