First Step: Staying True to Myself from Colombia
To the Lost City & Back
Most of us find it hard to disappoint those whom we love. We suppress our dreams, we hide what makes us happy, and we are afraid to take that first step. Fear of disappointment or failure stops our journey before it even begins. I hope that you find the courage to take that first step regardless of who you will disappoint, even if you’re afraid to disappoint yourself. Do not stay small. Do not hide in the shadows. Seek adventure and crave your aspirations like you crave each breath.
Recently, I returned from Colombia… and that first step is always the hardest. To go somewhere you have never gone before or to chase a dream that you have suppressed claws at you. That fear eats away at you and almost makes it impossible. However, my dream and hope for us is that we use that fear. We allow it to shape us and inspire us!
Colombia was such a uniquely beautiful place. From the walled city of Cartagena to the trek to the Lost City, it inspired me. The unique environments gave me visions of worlds that I had never imagined before this experience. Cultures, foods, histories, and nature combined for an extraordinary first step. Although it wasn’t my first time traveling, the uniqueness and uncertainty of it still swelled in my stomach and made me second-guess at times. On a humid, tropical path through a jungle where we were told not to interact with the military for safety reasons, it still fills you with doubt. But with that first step, I saw a beauty that I had never seen before. I experienced a world so ornate that it transcended the normal environment I find myself in, and this step led to introspection and growth.
That idea that stays with you is there for a reason.
This is my dream for us… that each step we take, that every journey we find ourselves on, we are not afraid to disappoint, to fail. With that initial plunge, we have created a life that many dream of. We have taken a leap for ourselves that we are too afraid to take. So, in that fear, in that uncertainty, I hope that you will leap into the unknown and that you will take that first step for a brighter future that is more fulfilled.
I want you to find a place where adventure fills your cup, where your dreams bring a smile to your face, and to live a life where, when you look back, you know that you wrote the most beautiful story you could have because you took that first step.