Searching for "the true path". For some, it's obvious where the path will take them: graduate high school, college, marriage, children. That's what we as humans are supposed to do, right? Where I grew up, this was—and still is—the norm. I told my parents at age 10, I was leaving Iowa as soon as I was able because that would not be me.
So when I graduated high school, that's what I did. I remember road trips as a kid, spending hours looking at the atlas and dreaming of all the places I wanted to see. From the Seattle market to Portland, Maine, down to the music and dirt paths in Austin, Texas, and the salty beaches of Florida. And, from the Southern Cali surf to Sacramento, and across the country to the Eastern shores of the Carolinas. After college, I entered a career of travel and writing, and then turned to marketing and event management, traveling a minimum of 15 days a month.
By default, I learned how to get around, book plane tickets, hail a cab, check into hotels (and take advantage of all the travel perks of points and elite benefits), who to talk to—and who not to. Where to eat and drink—and what not to eat and drink. How to crank up the laptop and write press releases and reports during a 2-hour layover or 4-hour flight, and how to sleep in a hotel with crying babies next door. Leaving home at 17 is the best advice I can give anyone. It forces you to learn, get outside your comfort zone, meet new people and become a well-rounded worldly person.
There’s always a downside to everything, I suppose. I wasn't able to become involved in my community or volunteer on a regular basis. Missed out on the occasional party or get together. And, didn't allow myself to become vulnerable to another relationship. I've really searched for my Verace Via for 15 years. I've searched my soul, read books, talked to God, ran many miles deep in thought, and had in-depth conversations with friends and my amazing mom.
What I've come to realize is that my True Path is right in front of me... I just have to embrace it. There's nothing to search, I just have to take one day at a time and trust the good Lord I am already on my Verace Via.
Now, in 2016, 16 years after leaving home and 23 years after telling my parents I would never live in Iowa...here I am. My marketing job in the South was no longer fulfilling and I wasn't growing, I was in a relationship that I thought was not good for me, and the amazing sister I never had (my sister-in-law) and brother were about to have twins. Family is important and where I was just wasn't making sense anymore.
Needless to say, I haven't done everything right. I tried the whole get married thing and failed. I'm 32 years old and don't have children. But, God has put me where I am for a reason. And, though I don't fit the norm, I never really have. I'm good with where I am—and that's because I've chosen my Verace Via. And, when I've least expected it, God has given me gifts. All I had to do was look up and see them along my path.
"Life is about the journey, not the destination."—Ralph Waldo Emerson
