Looking back I see myself opting to travel down the road not taken.
My life is an organic collage of vivid snapshots: a privileged child who knew herself through mirrors and the eyes of those who tended to her. A small person not yet herself, who gradually faced dangers and tasted unfamiliar waters before conquering independence. Where was she going? She didn’t know. Would she become an educator? A medical doctor? A writer, perhaps?
This child experienced life in the wild, gained a sense of community and understood the meaning of solidarity while serving as a doctor in remote locations. She moved through the organic stages of love: from loving family, to choosing friends, to falling in love, to forming her own family and loving her child, to accepting herself with all her flaws, to dedicating her life to acts of service while exploring a path as an educator and counselor: exploring the best ways to raise children in love and not in fear.
The girl I was: the paddler, the young doctor—evolved as I walked down the path less traveled, until becoming this woman who is now writing for you.