As my time in Seattle wraps up, I have been doing a lot of thinking. Not the forced kind. The kind that just happens when you are sitting on damp grass, surrounded by trees that look way too tall to be real, with water nearby and nothing demanding your attention. That kind of thinking hits different.

Yes, I know I can reflect at home. I own a couch. I have notes apps and journals and all the things. But somehow it feels more honest when you are outside, slightly cold, a little uncomfortable, and fully present. Seattle has a way of doing that to you.

Everything just feels… right.

Here Is What I Keep Coming Back To

Every experience in your life is doing something. Even the ones you would rather pretend never happened. The good, the bad, the embarrassing, the why-did-I-do-that moments. All of it counts.

Every win teaches you something.
Every loss humbles you.
Every mistake sharpens you up.

So stop being so scared of messing up. Seriously. Get your hands dirty. Try things that might not work. Say yes more often. The people who look like they have it together have failed more times than they are willing to admit.

That said, do not expect everything to click overnight. Nothing real works like that. The best things take time. The struggle feels heavy because it is actually doing its job. Everyone goes through one. Yours is not a sign that you are behind. It is proof that you are in it.

Go through it. Grow through it. That is the whole point.

On Travel, Growth, and Figuring Yourself Out

Travel as much as you can. Not to “find yourself” in some dramatic way, but to get out of your own head. New places give you perspective. They show you who you are when no one knows your name or expects anything from you.

Work on yourself while you are at it. The unglamorous parts too.

Find yourself. Then lose yourself. Then change your mind. Reinvent yourself if you need to. You are allowed to evolve. You are allowed to want different things than you did last year.

Just do not forget to be kind to yourself in the middle of all that becoming. Give yourself grace. You do not need to have everything figured out right now.

A Reminder I Needed Too

It does not all have to happen at once. You are not late. You are not behind. You are just early in a process that takes time.

The point is not rushing the outcome.
The point is trusting that it is coming.

Your time is coming. Sometimes you just need a city like Seattle to sit you down and remind you of that.