I spent most of my life fitting into other people’s expectations of me. Growing up in a religious home, the middle child of three girls, the messaging was everywhere. I was to keep the peace, not demand attention, and find my proper place in a supportive role. Essentially, I learned how to make myself small.

And that’s how, at 33, I ended up in a life I didn’t choose, chronically unhappy, working at a grocery store, and lacking any dreams or ambitions of my own. I was sleepwalking through life. 

Until I was forced to wake up. 

Shortly after giving birth to my second child, my husband of ten years left. With two children under three, a twelve-dollar-an-hour earning potential, and no idea who I really was, I scrambled to do the next “right” thing. A few months later I was en route to becoming a high school teacher. Not because I wanted to be a teacher but because it was the right thing to do. There was a stable job on the other side with enough free time to continue showing up for my kids the way I believed I should…at whatever cost to me.  

Diligently I went from full days of single parenting to night classes at the local college. But as I continued earning a master's degree that I didn’t want and couldn’t afford, a light deep inside me was flickering on. It was the light birthed from survival. A light that guided me out of my rock bottom, through the trauma of a toxic divorce and very real financial scarcity, finding footing on the other side. And as I continued to rebuild from that place, the flicker grew into a flame, 

I was no longer willing to play it small. I wanted to live the life I was destined to live and I was willing to risk safety and security to keep that flame alive. And so, as I was about to start my student teaching assignment, still with just a twelve-dollar-an-hour earning potential, I made the first true decision for myself in my entire life. I dropped out of grad school and asked myself, “what do I really want to do with this life?” 

The answer to my question was a desire to help others build healthy and sustainable lifestyles. With shaky underdeveloped confidence, I started a website that offered my services. My flame turned into fire as I continued to chase the life I wanted - one filled with healing and freedom of expression, built on the pillars of worth and purpose, aligned with my most authentic self. 

I had a vision and more importantly, I believed in my vision.

Within two years, I had turned a small hobby into a thriving business with 4 employees. My fire had created purpose, passion, and more freedom and financial security than I believed possible.

My circumstances woke me up.
My strength lit the path.
It was taking a risk that lead me to my dharma.

In my story of taking a risk, I found my way home. What would it take for you?