Life is like a novel.

Characters, classmates and coworkers are introduced.

Chapters are read, written and experienced.

Engulfed in a sea of curiosity, wonder, and excitement, we fill the pages of our lives with content of emotions, experiences, successes and failures. In going through the process of “growing up,” it’s easy to forget that like any great novelist, we play the role of writer and reader in the story of our lives. As we create and manifest, we must step back and observe and reflect. We can always turn the pages of our lives, going through the motions, getting to the end of the story without a tear, a laugh or a struggle, and life will continue on. However, what happens when we slow down, read the words, feel the emotions, and savor the chapters of our lives that get us deeper and deeper into the novel?

What happens when we, the creators of our destiny, actually start to feel the impact of our own creations?

In a matter of what feels like an instant, my life has changed. Nothing about my everyday life is familiar; my car is gone, my apartment is no longer mine, I don’t have my own refrigerator, and my daily attire is no longer just yoga pants and moisture-wicking hoodies. I don’t know where the nearest grocery store is, I do not have my close friends by my side, and I can’t just go to the yoga studio whenever I want.

I am in a new city, dressed in new clothes, surrounded by different people, and let’s just say, I’m far outside of my comfort zone; what I like to call the bubble of a novel I don’t necessarily need to read.

Suddenly, amidst the new, comes a choice to either rise to the occasion of discomfort and uncertainty or let it suck me in. I realize that merely turning the pages, going through the motions, will only leave me stuck at the beginning of the same chapter. However, unfortunately, life doesn’t sit still like a book—even while remaining at standstill, life keeps moving ahead and beginnings turn to endings as time travels at a rapid pace.

Here I sit, writing the first page of my story, beginning a new chapter of a book I plan to read thoroughly, feeling every emotion, traveling along the ebb and flow of everyday circumstances in a way that allows me to keep writing my own story; meeting new people, experiencing full moments and establishing full sentences, rather than fragments of time.

Chapter One: Begin.

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Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photo: David Petra/Pixoto